"Tidbits From TNT" Friday PM 9-1-2023
TNT:
CandyKisses: International organizations are flowing. Three reasons why Baghdad can play a pivotal role in the Middle East
Baghdad Today - Baghdad
On Friday (September 1, 2023), a member of the Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee, MP Abbas Al-Jubouri, identified three reasons that qualify Baghdad to play a pivotal role in the Middle East.
Al-Jubouri said in an interview with "Baghdad Today" that "Baghdad is qualified to be a center for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation at the regional level and any regional or international centers, pointing out that "the security environment is stable as well as political."
He added, "There are three reasons that qualify Baghdad to play a pivotal role in the Middle East, as well as the headquarters of important organizations, namely the geography of the place and Iraq's relations with the neighborhood, the region and the world, in addition to the confidence of countries in Baghdad's efforts in many important issues in the region."
Al-Jubouri pointed out that "Iraq is an important pivotal country in the Middle East, and this matter did not come from a vacuum, stressing, that "the security situation is moving towards complete stability, which leads to greater openness towards the flow of headquarters of organizations to Baghdad."
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced on August 28, 2023, Iraq's approval of the establishment of a regional headquarters for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the capital, Baghdad.
During his meeting with the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Hussein Ibrahim Taha, and his accompanying delegation, Al-Sudani pointed to "Iraq's natural and pivotal role in bringing together the views of Islamic countries in the region, and his conviction that dialogue is the best way to face common and numerous challenges.
************
Tishwash: A statement from the government regarding the railway link project between Iraq and Iran
After the Ministry of Transport and Basra Governorate confirmed the completion of the procedures stipulated in Cabinet Resolution (23333), related to the implementation of the railway link project (Basra - Shalamjah).
Tomorrow, the foundation stone will be laid for the start of the implementation of this vital project, to transport travelers and visitors between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is one of the important transportation projects in the region, and it will also contribute effectively to transporting travelers and visitors from Central Asian countries towards Iraq.
This project is an introduction to strategic transfer projects that will link Iraq and neighboring countries, which the government is working on implementing after it remained for many years in the framework of discussion and research without being implemented.
Bassem Al-Awadi,
the official spokesperson for the government
1- September- 2023 link
**
Puddlenpdw: “Iraqi-American” judicial negotiations to extradite those accused of “theft of the century”
Shafaq News/ The Parliamentary Integrity Committee revealed, on Thursday, negotiations that the Iraqi judiciary is conducting with its American counterpart to arrest those accused of the “deal of the century”.
The deputy head of the committee, Alia Nassif, told Shafaq News agency, “There is a move by the Iraqi Integrity and Judicial Commission, in coordination with the International Police, Interpol, for the purpose of arresting people accused of stealing tax secretaries, which was called the deal of the century.”
She added, “The Iraqi judiciary is conducting negotiations with its American counterpart to arrest those accused of stealing the century with the aim of handing them over to Iraq and prosecuting them,” noting that “two of the defendants hold American citizenship.”
Earlier, the head of the Iraqi Integrity Commission, Judge Haider Hanoun, called on the United States of America and the United Kingdom to extradite the director of the office of the former Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, the head of the Intelligence Service, and the former Minister of Finance for their involvement in the case of theft of tax secretariats, what is known in the media as the “theft of the century.”
The head of the Integrity Commission called on the relevant authorities in the United States of America and the United Kingdom to implement the arrest warrants issued against them in accordance with the provisions of Article 316 of the amended Iraqi Penal Code No. 111 of 1969.
He also called on the UAE to hand over the political advisor to the Prime Minister in the previous government who is currently residing on its territory, and also called on the State of Turkey to extradite a wanted man and his wife, who are former employees of the Federal Integrity Commission and hold Turkish citizenship.
And last October, the “theft of the century” case was revealed for the first time, in which former senior officials and businessmen were involved, and it sparked great discontent in Iraq, which in recent years has witnessed massive protests calling for an end to corruption.
The “theft of the century” became the talk of the Iraqi street, political circles and others, until its echo spread outside Iraq and was covered by Arab and Western media.
The “theft of the century” is represented by the disappearance of 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars (about two and a half billion dollars) from tax secretariat funds, and it was revealed by several concerned parties about two months before the end of the term of the previous government headed by Mustafa Al-Kazemi.
shafaq.com
**************
CandyKisses: : Expert summarizes 7 observations on the oil and gas law. What about the governor of the central bank?
Baghdad Today - Baghdad
Today, Friday (September 1, 2023), economist Nabil Al-Marsoumi made observations on the new version of the Oil and Gas Law, while noting that the new version is not much different from the previous two versions in 2007 and 2011.
Al-Marsawi stated in a post he posted on his personal account on the Facebook platform, which was followed by "Baghdad Today", that "the legislation of the oil and gas law was supposed to precede the establishment of the national oil company, and that the president of the company would be represented in the Federal Oil and Gas Council."
Al-Marsoumi asked sarcastically, "Is there no need to involve the governor of the Central Bank in the Federal Oil and Gas Council?", noting that "the Iraqi legislator seems to have invested in the Federal Court's decision in February 2022, which considered oil and gas activity in the region illegal, as well as the decision of the International Trade Court in Paris." In March 2023, which prevented Kurdistan from using the Iraqi-Turkish line, which led to the cessation of the region's oil exports, and this investment appears clear in the nature of the formation of the Federal Council that is dominated by the central authority and in the nature of the great powers enjoyed by the Federal Council for Oil and Gas in exchange for very limited powers for the region and the provinces non-regional producer.
And he continued, "There is a need for the law to include the principle of weighted voting in the Federal Oil and Gas Council according to certain criteria, such as having two or more votes for the governorate that produces more than one million barrels of equivalent per day."
And he continued, "Article 8 of the law states (the Federal Ministry of Oil shall manage the oil and gas-producing fields throughout Iraq in coordination with the producing region and governorates), and the explored and undeveloped fields, as well as the exploratory patches and how to manage them, were not addressed."
Al-Marsoumi explained, "The law did not give any role to the region and the producing governorates that are not organized in a region in drawing up strategic policies related to the development of oil and gas, which contradicts Article 112 second of the Iraqi constitution, which states (the federal government and the governments of producing regions and governorates together draw up the necessary strategic policies." To develop the wealth of oil and gas in a way that achieves the highest benefit for the Iraqi people, adopting the latest technologies, market principles and encouraging investment).
Al-Marsoumi concluded by saying, "The law did not include any article indicating how to deal with contractual obligations with foreign companies, especially the production-sharing contracts that it signed with Kurdistan 15 years ago, which are subject to mandated international arbitration in the event of breach of contractual obligations between foreign companies and the region."
Mot: . Beeeeeeee wary Out there!!!------
Mot: . Many Thanx Jack, fur the Great Awareness Tips!!
