Baghdad: Finance Minister Faleh Sari announced on Thursday that significant progress has been made in completing the requirements for preparing the program and performance budget.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the ministry stated in a press release that the minister continued his meetings on Thursday to follow up on the progress of the program and performance budget project. The meetings were attended by the governor of Salah al-Din, a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government, members of parliament, and representatives from several ministries, governorates, and government agencies.

The statement added that the meeting reviewed the progress made in preparing the budget according to the approved timelines, discussed the outputs achieved by the working groups, and considered the observations and proposals submitted to complete the project’s requirements.

The minister indicated that the Ministry of Finance has made significant strides in completing the requirements for preparing the program and performance budget. He explained that this shift aims to move from focusing on the size of financial allocations to measuring the results and objectives achieved by linking budgets to programs, projects, and performance indicators.

He called for “bilateral meetings between the committees responsible for preparing the budget and the Kurdistan Regional Government delegation in the coming days,” stressing that “full transparency in disclosing financial data and revenues is a fundamental condition for achieving a realistic and accurate budget.”

The statement added that “these meetings are part of an ongoing process to finalize the program and performance budget project, which will establish a gradual shift in the methodology for preparing the state’s general budget.”