Expectations for the arrival of the 2024 budget schedules next week

Information / Baghdad… Representative Mudar Al-Karawi expected, today, Saturday, that the 2024 budget schedules will arrive from the government next week.

Al-Karawi told Al-Maalouma, “The 2024 budget schedules are almost complete in its main sections, amid expectations that they will arrive next week in the House of Representatives.”

He added, “The Finance Committee will begin, as soon as the schedules arrive, to conduct discussions and audits before referring them to the House of Representatives for a vote,” pointing out that “it is not possible to determine the nature of the items and points, but in any case, they will not differ greatly from the 2023 budget.”

He pointed out “the importance of supporting some chapters.” The mission, whether security or service, is in accordance with the general vision, in line with the material capabilities and the budget’s ability to bear more spending.

“The 2024 budget tables are important in order to set a ceiling on public spending and resources for financing state projects and securing financial allocations.”

Almaalomah.me

Iraq is ninth in the world in natural resource reserves.. Russia is first and America is second

Shafaq News / Iraq was ranked among the top ten countries possessing the most valuable natural resource reserves, in terms of total estimated value for the past 3 years.

According to the Statista website, natural resources are the raw inputs used to make everything that is used, from intermediate goods to final products, and these resources are found in the ground among reserves that have not yet been extracted.

According to Statista estimates, Russia came in first place, with the value of its natural resource reserves amounting to $75 trillion. This amount includes coal, oil, natural gas, gold, timber, and rare earth minerals.

The United States came second, and the estimated value of its natural resources is estimated at about 45 trillion dollars, approximately 90% of which is wood and coal.

Iraq ranked ninth, as it possesses $15.9 trillion in natural resources, and its desert terrain contains oil, natural gas, phosphate and sulfur, according to the site.

Iraq is the second largest producer of crude oil in OPEC, ranks fifth in the world in possessing proven crude oil reserves, and relies on the export of crude oil to obtain a large amount of its revenues.

Shafaq.com

A parliamentary committee decides to host officials from the Iraqi Central Bank to discuss the loan and interest mechanism

Shafaq News / The Parliamentary Finance Committee announced, on Thursday, the imminent hosting of bank officials to follow up on the initiative of the Central Bank of Iraq and the loan and interest mechanism to finance projects and loans.

Committee member Mustafa Al-Karaawi told Shafaq News Agency: “The Parliamentary Finance Committee is closely following the Central Bank’s initiative and the mechanism for issuing loans from banks to finance medium and small projects and housing loans, in addition to employee advances.”

He added, “The Parliamentary Finance Committee will, in the coming period, host officials at the Central Bank and general managers of banks to discuss the mechanism for granting loans, interest, and the repayment period, provided that the interest is decreasing.”

Shafaq.com

Adviser to the Prime Minister: The decline of the dollar is an indicator of the strength of the dinar and a tangible success of the economic policy

The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Saleh, confirmed the strength of the dinar against the dollar after a relative decline in the exchange rate.

Saleh told {Al-Furat News} agency, “We indicate the strength of the Iraqi dinar, expressed in the decline in the parallel market rates of exchange in favor of the official exchange rate, a tangible success in the cohesion of the country’s economic policy in its three aspects: monetary, financial, and commercial, in providing a coherent climate of stability in the general level of prices.” And containing seasonal price fluctuations for high-demand items, specifically providing basic food commodities that have low price elasticities of demand because they are necessary commodities associated with consumption and daily living.”

He noted “the importance and speed of customs procedures, which were represented by (reducing customs tariffs and diversifying imports without quantitative limits for necessary goods) as part of the performance of the financial policy in supporting price stability and ensuring the supply of food and essential goods and production supplies at the official exchange rate and in accordance with the requirements of the national economy.”

The Parliamentary Finance Committee had expected the dollar price to continue to decline as the results of the measures taken by the Central Bank of Iraq to limit the rise in the foreign currency began to appear.

The dollar exchange rate a few days ago was about 1,500 or 1,490 thousand dinars to the dollar.

Alforatnews.iq

The oil and gas law is lingering in the corridors of the government… the reason?

A member of the Parliamentary Oil, Gas and Resources Committee revealed the reasons for the continued disruption of the oil and gas law legislation, which has been postponed for several parliamentary sessions.

Ali Abdel Sattar Al-Mashkur told {Al-Furat News} agency, “First of all, everyone should know that the draft oil and gas law is still with the government and has not reached the House of Representatives or our committee for us to study it or initiate its legislation.”

He added, “There is a real intention on the part of the committee to legislate this law, but on its condition and conditions, and that it gives everyone their due rights and does not discriminate between one party and another regarding entitlements and duties.”

Al-Mashkoor said, “In the end, there are still controversial points at the core of the spirit of the law, and this is what made it wander politically within the corridors of the government.”

It is noteworthy that since the first session of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, in 2005, the draft oil and gas law has been stuck in the drawers, as disagreements prevented its approval in its final form, and it was even described as the “big knot” law in Iraq due to the extent of the disagreements over it.

After 18 years, he announced, in late August 2023, the formation of a committee to develop a draft of the oil and gas law and present it to the government and the House of Representatives.

Iraq exports an average of 3.3 million barrels of crude oil per day, and black gold constitutes more than 90 percent of the Iraqi treasury’s resources.

The draft oil and gas law in Iraq available to Parliament stipulates that responsibility for managing the country’s oil fields must be entrusted to a national oil company, and supervised by a federal council specialized in this subject.

For its part, the Kurdistan Oil Law indicates that the Iraqi government “has the right to participate in the management of fields discovered before 2005, but the fields discovered afterward belong to the regional government.”

Alforatnews.iq

Parliamentary insistence on implementing Article 30 of the Budget Law.. What does it include?

Information/Exclusive: Representative Mudar Al-Karawi confirmed on Thursday that there is parliamentary insistence on supporting an article in the 2023 budget that will revive the national industry.

Al-Karawi, a member of the Finance Committee, said in an interview with Al-Maalouma: “There cannot be a strong Iraqi economy without an industrial structure that is capable, through production, of meeting the needs of institutions and reaching markets, and this matter cannot be achieved without objective openness that takes into account support for the product.” directly and opening the doors to marketing.

He added, “Article 30/Second of the General Budget Law of 2023 imposed an obligation on all ministries and government institutions to meet their needs and purchase their requirements and supplies from the local product,” pointing out that “the committee will direct official questions and inquiries to parties that are not strictly committed to this article.”

He pointed out that “the application of this article is very limited and this is a grave mistake despite the availability of alternatives to many materials through the national industry,” indicating that “the committee will study this file and explain the reasons for not implementing it in order to proceed with offering practical solutions that are binding on ministries, government agencies and institutions.”

Marketing national production through ministries and agencies supports the industry and pushes it to modernize its lines in a way that leads to creating recovery and providing more job opportunities.

Almaalomah.me

Iraq joins the World Federation of Free Economic Zones (FEMOZA).

Shafaq News / The Industrial Estates Authority, one of the formations of the Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Minerals, announced on Thursday its joining the World Federation of Free Economic Zones (FEMOZA) in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The Director General of the Authority, Hamid Awad Muhammad, explained in a statement that the Authority is a vital entity charged with advancing the industrial cities and their prosperity throughout Iraq, indicating that the joining came due to the importance of international partnerships in achieving the objectives of the Authority in light of economic changes and the movement of markets, shipping lines, and global land and railway transport, and in order to Interact with it professionally, taking advantage of Iraq’s strategic geographical location.

He pointed out that the FEMOZA organization is considered an internationally known union committed to promoting sustainable economic zones and has links with (200) countries in the world.

The Director of the Authority added that this affiliation confirms the objectives of the Industrial Estates Authority in creating an environment conducive to investment, innovation and economic diversification by benefiting from the organization and its global network, as well as attracting foreign investment to Iraq and enhancing the Authority’s ability to establish and manage industrial zones that help in sustainable development and international business participation. Accelerating industrial growth within Iraq by benefiting from the expertise of specialized international organizations.

Shafaq.com

Iraqi Dinar / US Dollar auction results for today 3-18-2024

Results of the foreign currency selling window for Monday 3/18/2024

Advertisement No. (5088 )

The amount:

Total amounts of transfers abroad (transfers, credits)
221,850,680

Total cash withdrawals
20,820,000

Total total sales
242,670,680

Note that: The selling price of documentary credits and international settlements for electronic cards is ( 1310 ) dinars per dollar.

The selling price for transfer amounts abroad is ( 1310 ) dinars per dollar.
The cash selling price is ( 1305 ) dinars per dollar.

cbi.iq/currency_auction

Al-Sudani: The implementation of the 2023 budget witnessed a success that must be invested in

Shafaq News / Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani saw, on Monday, that the implementation of the state’s general budget for the year 2023 had “successful,” stressing his investment to complete the remaining projects.

This came during his chairing a special meeting on the federal general budget schedules for the year 2024 and continuing to support the government program priorities, according to a statement issued by his media office and received by Shafaq News Agency.

The statement said that the meeting was devoted to discussing the schedules of the federal general budget for the year 2024, and presenting priorities in the sections of spending and supporting service, economic and social projects, and strategic projects, within the path of the three-year budget (2023, 2024, 2025).

Al-Sudani pointed out the need to focus attention on projects that are nearing completion, projects that drive the economic cycle and support infrastructure, in addition to projects that provide the largest number of job opportunities and meet service, health and social needs that take precedence over other public necessities.

Al-Sudani stressed that the success witnessed in implementing the 2023 budget must be invested in completing the remaining economic projects, especially those related to aspects of economic reform, investment, and infrastructure construction in the areas of transportation, health, and municipal services, and supporting productive agricultural and industrial programs.

In the path of comprehensive development and administrative decentralization, Al-Sudani stressed the importance of selecting projects with the highest priority in the allocations to governorate councils, and making the local targets of the governorates in a state of integration with the programs implemented by the federal ministries, which allows achieving the highest returns and results at the level of employment and development, and meeting basic services. For all citizens throughout Iraq.

Shafaq.com

Economist: Three reasons behind the decline in dollar prices

Information / private… Today, Monday, economic expert Zia Mohsen explained the reasons for the decline in the price of the dollar in Iraqi markets, noting that speculation is the most prominent of these reasons.

Mohsen said in a statement to Al-Maalouma, “The speculation operations that take place in order to remove some small traders from the market pushed them to pump the dollar more, which contributed to its decline.”

He added, “The decrease in the level of family purchases compared to the first days of Ramadan is one of the reasons for the decline,” pointing out that “the Central Bank’s turbulent policy and multiple decisions do not make the exchange rate stable.”

Mohsen added, “Exchange rates will rise again with the demand for spending on Eid al-Fitr.”

The Iraqi markets witnessed a significant decline in the exchange rates of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar after a wave of rise that affected the economic movement.

Almaalomah.me