Some “Iraq News” Posted by Clare at KTFA 2-21-2025
KTFA:
Clare: Member of Parliamentary Finance: The failure of the 2025 budget tables to reach Parliament is hindering the work of spending {12/1}
2/21/2025
Member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Jamal Kojer, confirmed that the 2025 budget schedules have not yet reached Parliament.
Kocher told {Euphrates News} agency, "Despite the government's commitment to the requirements of Article 71 of the 2023 Budget Law, which obligates it to send the schedules on time annually."
Kocher pointed out that "the 2024 budget schedules cannot be voted on as an alternative to the 2025 budget, explaining that work is not being done according to Law (12/1) because the approved budget is not annual, but rather a three-year budget covering the years 2023, 2024 and 2025."
He explained that "disbursements during the year 2025 will be based on the share (12/1) of that year's budget within the time frame of the three-year budget."
Raghad LINK
Clare: New reform plans for the banking sector in Iraq
2/21/2025
The Prime Minister's Advisor for Financial Affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, stressed that achieving a unified vision to study the conditions of banks in Iraq requires the integration of the national banking market within a homogeneous framework aimed at enhancing the stability of the national financial system and developing its performance in the areas of credit, digital payments, and financing economic development.
Saleh said in a special statement to {Al Furat News}, "The first vision focuses on the importance of achieving integration between national banks in a way that enhances their role in supporting the Iraqi economy, pointing out that this requires updating the financial infrastructure and adopting modern technologies to meet the requirements of the era.
The second vision, according to the financial advisor, is related to developing two comprehensive reform plans targeting the public and private banking sectors, with the aim of improving the performance of these institutions in accordance with international standards. He explained that the reform will include improving governance and financial management and enhancing transparency, which will facilitate the involvement of Iraqi banks in the global financial relations network.
Saleh added that the direct goal of banking reform is to enable Iraqi banks to deal more effectively with the outside world, ensuring economic openness and attracting foreign investments, as well as strengthening Iraq's position on the international financial scene.
This trend comes in light of the government’s ongoing efforts to develop the financial sector and enhance its role in achieving sustainable development and supporting the national economy, as banking reform is viewed as an essential step towards achieving these goals.
Raghad LINK
************
Clare: European Union to {Sabah}: We praise the reforms of the Sudanese government
2/20/2025
Baghdad: Hazem Mohammed Habib
The European Union commended the economic reform plans and efforts drawn up and implemented by the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
The Union praised the government's balanced diplomacy to bring peace and stability to the Middle East, which contributed to establishing Iraq as a "bridge for dialogue."
The European Union Ambassador to Iraq, Thomas Sailer, said in an exclusive interview with Al-Sabah: “The EU mission and the missions of the EU member states in Baghdad are working closely with the Iraqi government to push forward fundamental reforms.”
“The European Union commends the efforts of the government of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in this area, and encourages the authorities, including the Council of Representatives and key economic stakeholders, to accelerate the pace of reforms, particularly in developing the private sector,” he added, explaining that “strengthening this sector will not only contribute to diversifying the economy, but will also increase Iraq’s attractiveness to European investors, traders and manufacturers, thus enhancing opportunities for economic cooperation between Iraq and Europe.”
Ambassador Sailer pointed out that “the European Union is also working with the Iraqi government in the areas of combating corruption, social protection, reforming the civil and military security sector, and developing the private sector, including the banking sector and corporate legislation,” stressing that “these areas are very important for Iraq to continue building a modern economy.”
“We support Iraq in joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is necessary, among other things, to harmonize Iraqi laws with international standards,” he added. LINK
Clare: Trade: Prices in hypermarkets are lower than those in local markets and we will reduce them by 40 percent
2/21/2025- Baghdad
The Ministry of Commerce announced today, Friday, a plan to increase the percentage of price reductions in hypermarkets to more than 40 percent, while indicating that all materials entering the hypermarket are subject to Iraqi specifications.
The Director General of the General Company for Foodstuff Trading at the Ministry of Trade, Lama Hashem Al-Moussawi, said in a statement to the official agency, which was followed by (Mawazine News):
“The hypermarket project and its locations came based on the directives of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in light of the government program based on services, as the project is primarily a service for citizens to control the prices of food and household goods,” noting that “the prices of materials are under the supervision and audit of the public sector, and also at competitive prices that serve the citizen, and whoever walks around the hypermarket will see the prices lower than their counterparts in local markets from 20% to 25%.” LINK
************
Clare: Reuters: Trump administration gives Iraq a choice between quickly resuming Kurdish oil exports or facing sanctions
2/21/2025 Baghdad Today - Follow-up
The United States of America threatened, today, Friday, February 21, 2025, the federal government in Iraq with sanctions if the Kurdistan Region's oil exports are not resumed quickly.
Reuters quoted sources as saying: “The administration of President Donald Trump asked Iraq to resume (Kurdish) oil exports quickly or face sanctions alongside Iran.”
The sources added, according to Reuters, that "Washington believes that Kurdish oil sales may help reduce crude prices and compensate for the decline in Iranian supplies."
Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani revealed on Tuesday that Iraq had sent a delegation from the ministry to the Kurdistan Region to agree on a mechanism for delivering the region’s oil and exporting it through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
The Minister of Oil explained that he had contacted the Minister of Natural Resources in the region, Kamal Mohammed Saleh, to negotiate with the delegation about the mechanism for receiving and exporting oil through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
This came a day after Iraq accelerated the expected date for the resumption of oil exports from Kurdistan, as the federal oil minister said last Monday that oil exports from the Kurdistan region could resume within just a week.
It is noteworthy that the President of the Region, Nechirvan Barzani, announced a few days ago that the resumption of shipments will likely take place next March.
Iraq exports between 400,000 and 500,000 barrels per day from fields in the north of the country, including the Kurdistan region, via the now-defunct Iraq-Turkey pipeline.
Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani said earlier this month that at least 300,000 barrels per day of crude were planned to be moved once operations resumed.
In Iraqi Kurdistan, oil production ranges between about 280,000 and 300,000 barrels per day, and the regional government estimates its needs for domestic consumption - including power generation - at about 110,000 to 120,000 barrels per day. LINK
