| Iraq joined the World Bank in 1945. Since then, the focus of World Bank assistance has been to foster sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty in the country. World Bank Country Assistance In July 2005, the Bank prepared a new Interim Strategy for 2005–06, covering future assistance through both new trust fund resources, and International Development Association (IDA) credits. Based on consultations with the Iraqi authorities, and building on the experiences in Iraq to date, the strategy focuses on basics, emphasizing simplicity and flexibility. It uses financing and technical assistance to leverage existing programs in which the Bank has invested heavily to enhance the Iraqi capacity to continue to implement them and enter into new sectors. The Bank’s assistance to date has been guided by an Interim Strategy Note prepared in January 2004, which provides a framework for assistance through the Bank window of the International Reconstruction Fund Facility of Iraq (IRFFI). The Bank strategy focuses on: (i) capacity building for civil servants responsible for implementation of reconstruction; (ii) emergency reconstruction projects implemented by the recipient ministries, and (iii) policy advice on a number of topics, including subsidy reforms, public finance, pensions and social safety nets, restructuring of state-owned-enterprises, the investment climate, trade policy, and telecommunications, among others. Loans and Grants The World Bank's portfolio, as of August 2006, in Iraq comprises two active projects.  More on Lending to Iraq
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