September 06, 2007	Thursday	Sha'aban 23, 1428

BAGHDAD, Sept 5: Improved security is boosting Iraq’s war-ravaged economy which is heading for growth of more than six per cent this year, a senior US official said on Wednesday, supporting IMF projections.

“The improvement on the security side is having an impact on the economy,” Charles Ries, the US coordinator for economic transition in Iraq, told reporters in Baghdad.

“It is hard to measure it precisely, and there is no doubt that the Iraqi economy is burdened by a number of challenges and is performing under its potential,” said Ries, who took up his post in July.

“Nonetheless, real GDP growth this year will be over six per cent and if you take out the oil sector, it will be over seven per cent.”

According to the IMF, Iraq’s GDP rose by 3.7 per cent in 2005 and an estimated 6.2 per cent in 2006.—AFP