The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Alaq, confirmed: 'Over the past ten years, the Iraqi banking sector has witnessed significant qualitative developments in response to the adoptions and policies of the Central Bank of Iraq.' Al-Alaq pointed out in a speech at the opening of the conference of the Union of Arab Banks, in Baghdad, to the importance of holding such conferences, within the framework of the many cooperation and partnerships that the Central Bank of Iraq establishes with various Arab and international organizations and institutions, and its openness to them with the aim of exchanging experiences and improving performance in the banking and financial sector. This reflects the extent of compatibility of development visions and strategic goals with regard to the topics being addressed, which focus on key substantive areas such as supporting economic development and combating and financing terrorism.' He explained: 'Central banks faced increasing challenges after decades of traditional functions and tasks, which could be closer to stasis, until each period brought different challenges that required a special approach to confront them. After long periods of decline in prices and inflation, the global economy began to face a phase characterized by a rise in prices, inflation and high levels of public and private debt. He added, "The financial crisis in 2008 was followed by a series of challenges represented by public debt and the rush to raise interest rates to confront inflation threats, which makes servicing the public debt more expensive. Today there are many shocks, including demand versus supply, special risks versus systemic risks, and permanent counterparty shocks, which require a modified approach in the face of sudden and unexpected changes." He continued: 'Central banks are facing new challenges in the interaction between financial and monetary stability, in light of the dominance of public finances and the central banks' decision to facilitate excessive government debts at the ex pense of fiscal control, which requires reducing spending or increasing domestic revenues, or both.' Al-Alaq stressed: 'Over the past ten years, the Iraqi banking sector has witnessed major qualitative developments in response to the adoptions and policies of the Central Bank of Iraq, as it introduced and applied for the first time the practices of compliance rules, governance, risk management, precautionary oversight, risk-based oversight, comprehensive tour management, business continuity, digital services, and financial inclusion.' He added: 'Despite all these developments, there remain major and escalating challenges represented in compliance with international laws, legislation, requirements and standards, and others that have a direct connection and impact on the openness of local financial institutions to their international counterparts.' Source: National Iraqi News Agency