The Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a three-year stand-by arrangement worth $5.34bn for Iraq to support the government’s economic reforms.

The facility was approved by the IMF board and is made available as SDR3.831bn (IMF’s special drawing rights), which is about 230 percent of Iraq’s quota of support from the IMF.

The IMF says Iraq’s economic reform programme aims to address the country’s urgent balance of payments need, bring spending in line with lower global oil prices, and ensure debt sustainability.

The proposed reforms also include measures to protect the poor, strengthen public financial management, enhance financial sector stability, and curb corruption.

“The Iraqi economy has been hit hard by the double shock arising from the ISIS attacks and the sharp drop in global oil prices,” said Min Zhu, deputy managing director and acting chair of the board, IMF. “The policies put in place by the authorities to deal with this double shock are appropriate.”