The European Union and the World Bank issue a joint statement on the economy of Iraq … and an urgent request

According to the joint statement, “Following the launch of the IECG on October 22, 2020 in London, the Government of Iraq met with its international partners in the Director-level Economic Contact Group on March 2, 2021, to conduct an assessment of the recent reform steps, in order to start identifying Align international support, and map the way forward towards holding a high-level contact group meeting in late spring of 2021. ‘

He explained, “The Iraqi economy has faced multiple shocks that have led to a severe recession and high poverty rates, and that structural obstacles that have accumulated for decades limit the availability of financial reserves to mitigate the social and economic impact on Iraq’s most vulnerable citizens and its commercial projects. As a result, engaging in reforms is the fastest way.” To reverse the course of the situation. ”

The statement added, “Indeed, the long-term success of Iraq is crucial to the stability of the entire region; but the Iraqi economic model based on oil is facing an increasing challenge from a young and growing population that needs to diversify job opportunities, and from an irreversible global trend towards decarbonization and access to a green economy.” .

He continued, “The Iraqi government has taken commendable steps to address immediate and long-term financial and economic challenges by initiating a frank discussion about the requirements for structural reform to address financial imbalances, address critical infrastructure gaps and direct the Iraqi economy towards sustainable and comprehensive development, including gender equality.”

“As partners and friends of Iraq, we have indicated our appreciation for the steps taken recently to move from analysis to implementation, as evidenced by the Cabinet’s approval of the implementation plan for the White Paper, including the governance structure to achieve this goal,” the statement indicated. “.

He called for “expediting the adoption of a reform-oriented Iraqi national budget, given the need for it to provide the necessary means and tools to ensure that Iraq can continue on its reform path towards stability. At the same time, we have been informed of the additional work needed to implement reforms. There is an economic and social cost to delay.” In taking action. ”

“Therefore, it will be necessary now to start urgent implementation based on the identified priorities. The reform agenda must be an integral part of a broad and open dialogue between the government of Iraq, its parliament and its citizens, in order to ensure that the future of Iraq is formulated in a comprehensive manner,” the statement concluded.

Alforatnews.com

A huge batch of money will cover Iraq: the deficit disappears completely and 12 trillion dinars are surplus .. What does it mean for oil to cross the $ 70 barrier?

Yes Iraq: Baghdad… Iraqi optimism and reassurance continues with greater financial prosperity this year, with the continued rise in oil prices, which today broke the $ 71 strongly, for the first time in more than a year.

As oil prices jumped, today, Monday, to reach the highest level in more than a year, to surpass the price of futures contracts for Brent crude $ 71 per barrel, for the first time since January 8, 2020, while trading data indicated an increase in May futures contracts for North Sea oil mixture brand Brent rose 2.32 percent to $ 71.15 a barrel.

How much height will it add?

According to government statements and SOMO statistics, Iraq issues about 3.5 million barrels per day, while the 2021 budget calculated the price of a barrel at $ 45 and calculated on the basis of the revenues and the deficit, which decreased to only 25 trillion.
With the arrival of oil prices above the $ 71 mark, the price difference between what is specified in the budget and the prices reached today is more than $ 25.

According to calculations made by the “Yes Iraq” platform, this price surplus will add about $ 25 billion this year, and with the difference in the new exchange rate, it will enter the treasury about 37 trillion Iraqi dinars, at a time when the deficit is only 25 trillion, which means that it will flood as well. About 12 trillion Iraqi dinars during the year 2021, if oil prices stabilized above the $ 70 barrier.

Will the prices continue to be high?

Mazhar Muhammad Salih, the economic advisor to the prime minister, points out that the continuation of oil prices at the $ 70 per barrel barrier will dispense with borrowing.
Saleh said, “The global economic crisis is towards easing after the rise and recovery of global oil prices, reaching the $ 70 barrier.

He added, “The deficit has shrunk and it is possible to dispense with borrowing if the price of a barrel of oil continues towards the current price,” noting that “the global oil surplus has ended and OPEC is looking to increase production for all exporting countries and urges them to do so.”

Saleh explained that “the disappearance of 10% of the global oil surplus dispels fears of a return to low oil prices, which means that the budget reaches the equilibrium stage.”

Yesiraq.com

The Iraqi Parliament votes on controversial articles in the Federal Court Law

Today, the Iraqi parliament voted on a number of articles of the Federal Court Law , which is the last of the laws against holding the upcoming parliamentary elections , amid disagreements over other articles, and warnings from political forces that they will not be passed.

Before the session was held, the political forces held a meeting inside the parliament building, during which they discussed the contentious articles of the law and the possibility of consensus on them.

During a session attended by 255 deputies, Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi presented the remaining paragraphs of the law, and paragraphs 8, 10 and 21 were passed, which are among the controversial articles in the law.

The deputy of the “Sairoun” coalition, Sabah Al-Ugaili, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “the three articles are related to the issues of service, salaries and retirement, and they were voted on after the dispute over them was settled.”

He explained that “the remaining articles are the second article and it concerns the numbers of judges and jurists, and there is a disagreement about it, and the third concerns how to nominate judges and jurists and the party that nominates them, and Article 12 concerns the method of voting inside the court, and it has been postponed to the next session.”

He stressed that “these articles are very important and are the core of the law, and Christians objected to them if they wanted to be represented among the judges.”

The deputy of the coalition of Iraqis, Jasim Al-Bahati, considered the objection to the other paragraphs “unjustified,” stressing to “Al-Araby Al-Jadeed”, that “the components’ objection to those articles is a political objection.

He pointed out that “it was agreed with the Presidency of Parliament and other forces that the law would be completed during the Saturday session,” stressing that “those forces object to the appointment of the jurists, and considered their presence pushing the direction of the religious state.”

On the other hand, the advisor to the Speaker of Parliament for Component Affairs, Imad Youkhana, called on the civilian components and blocs and the deputies who believe in a civil state, to “not allow the passage of the law, as it establishes a religious state and imposes the majority religion on all Iraqis,” stressing in a press statement that “the law strikes Human rights and democracy are out of the question. ”

He stressed that “all civil forces and civil society organizations must move urgently to stop this legislation by all available constitutional and legal means.”

The former representative of the Kurdish forces, Arafat Karam, warned against passing the law, as it establishes the “religious state”, and said in a tweet on “Twitter”, that “granting the right of veto to Sharia jurists in the Federal Court law is the consolidation of the religious state, and the undermining of the civil state, because Sharia jurists are not infallible until they possess this advantage. What they say is human ijtihad may be wrong and may be right, and what was tolerant of right and wrong is not suitable for reversal at all.

Last Thursday, the Iraqi parliament voted on the majority of the articles of the Federal Court’s law, after political consensus was reached on them.

The problem of the Federal Court began at the end of 2019 after the retirement of one of its members, Farouk Al-Sami, as the court was unable to appoint an alternate member after earlier canceling the only legal text that regulates the court’s work, pending the parliament’s legislation of the Federal Court Law, which would Establish appropriate mechanisms for selecting new members.

And the Iraqi Elections Commission has previously expressed its readiness to hold early elections on the specified date, stressing that holding elections requires the fulfillment of several conditions, including the parliament completing the quorum of the Federal Court, which is the only body authorized according to the law to certify the election results.

Alaraby.co.uk

IRAQI PM KADHIMI CALLS FOR ‘NATIONAL DIALOGUE’ TO FINALIZE AGREEMENT BETWEEN ERBIL AND BAGHDAD

SULAIMANI — Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Monday (March 8) called for “national dialogue” in order to achieve a breakthrough and seal a comprehensive agreement between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The agreement would need to preserve “the unity of Iraqi territory and radically address the accumulated problems,” Kadhimi said in a speech reflecting on the lessons of Pope Francis’ recent visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

Relations between Baghdad and Erbil have been particularly tumultuous since 2014, with persistent disagreements over the budget, the KRG’s independent oil sales, the disputed areas, and the Region’s 2017 independence referendum.

The crisis of the moment is the impasse over the draft 2021 Federal Budget Law with negotiations characterized by low levels of trust on both sides.

Referencing the fraternal theme of the pope’s visit, the prime minister called for a renewed spirit of cooperation in solving the country’s challenges.

“We have lived together for more than six thousand years and we are still together,” he said. He also urged other countries “to banish the specter of wars, disagreements, and conflicts that will not serve our peoples.”

“The message of our people has reached all the peoples on the earth. We have suffered many wars and blood has spilled on our land.”

(NRT Digital Media)

Erbil announces that it has delivered all oil data to Baghdad: We are committed to transparency

Shafaq News / The Kurdistan Regional Government announced, on Saturday, that it had delivered all data on oil and non-oil revenues and expenditures, in addition to electronic data on the region’s employees.

Government spokesman Jotiar Adel said in Ward, to Shafaq News, that the Kurdistan Regional Government renews its commitment to all the duties that result from it and its belief in the transparency adopted by the work program of the ninth cabinet of the government.

He added that its affirmation of its obligations comes at a time when the issue of approving the general Iraqi budget has reached its final stages, after lengthy dialogues with all concerned parties.

Adel explained that the regional government provided the Finance Committee in the Iraqi parliament last December, with all the details related to oil revenues and expenditures, based on the audit and follow-up report carried out by the international “Deloitte” company.

He continued by saying that the regional government also sent figures related to non-oil revenues from the crossings and other areas, in addition to electronic data on the numbers of the region’s employees.

Adel affirmed the territorial government’s commitment to the principle of transparency, referring to the answers to all questions received from the Federal Ministries of Finance and Oil, as well as the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives.

And he expressed the regional government’s readiness to answer any other question related to this issue in order to clear the ambiguity that has an impact on the path of understanding and agreement between the two sides.

Last December, Baghdad and Erbil reached an agreement on the financial budget, stipulating that the region hand over 250 thousand barrels of oil per day, and half of the revenues from border crossings and others to the federal government, in exchange for a share in the budget of 12.6 percent.

The agreement was included in the draft budget, but political blocs in Parliament reject the agreement, which hinders its passage in Parliament.

Shafaq.com

Masrour Barzani welcomes Al-Kazemi’s invitation

Baghdad today – Kurdistan: Today, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, welcomed Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi’s invitation to hold a national dialogue between the Iraqi parties.

Barzani said in a statement, “In the name of the Kurdistan Regional Government, I welcome and support the invitation of the Federal Prime Minister, Mr. Mustafa Al-Kazemi, for a national dialogue between the Iraqi parties to fundamentally solve all problems and conflicts.”

He added, “We also express our readiness to reach a comprehensive and final agreement to solve all problems between the federal government and the Kurdistan region on the basis of the constitution.”

In his speech, broadcast on state television, at twelve o’clock this afternoon, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi said that the message of Pope Francis’s visit to Iraq reached the whole world, while calling on all political forces participating in the political process and opposing his government to dialogue. A comprehensive national, that guarantees the right of Iraq to maintain its security and stability.

Alrafidain.news

A deputy in the regional parliament commenting on yesterday’s message: We will continue negotiating with Baghdad until the last moment

Baghdad today – Kurdistan: A member of the Kurdistan Parliament’s Finance Committee, Bahjat Ali, confirmed that the last message sent by the regional government yesterday, Saturday, will not be the last, while indicating that Kurdistan will continue negotiations with Baghdad until the last moment, to end the dispute over the budget law for 2021.

In an interview with (Baghdad Today), Bahjat Ali said, “The region will continue its negotiations with Baghdad until the last moment, in order to obtain the rights of our citizens,” noting that “the last message was a new commitment and commitment from Kurdistan.”

Ali added, “The decision is not in the region’s hands. We have made all our commitments and pledges, but the problem lies with the political blocs, and we cannot agree to the conditions of unconstitutional political forces, and it is not possible to deliver the entire oil, because there are financial and legal obligations and obligations before our people and our citizens.”

And a member of the Finance Committee in the Kurdistan Parliament expressed his hope that “the political blocs will respond to this message, and then a new delegation from the regional government will go to Baghdad again, before the budget is presented to vote in Parliament.”

Yesterday, Saturday, the spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government, Gutiar Adel, announced that his government submitted a proposal to the federal government and the Iraqi parliament to end the dispute over the budget law for the year 2021.

In a statement received (Baghdad Today), Adel said, “The government has delivered all data and statistics related to revenues and expenditures, both oil and non-oil, and the biometric registration of employees to Baghdad,” stressing that “commitment to the principle of transparency and willingness to provide any clarification to remove the problems that may hinder the agreement between the two sides.” “.

The statement added, “The approval of the Iraqi budget bill for 2021 in its final stages and after conducting many discussions with all concerned parties, the Kurdistan Regional Government affirms its commitment to all its duties and its belief in the principle of transparency as stated in the work program of the ninth government cabinet.”

And that “the Kurdistan Regional Government reviewed the Finance Committee in the Iraqi Council of Representatives, through the book No. (7 – special), on 1-2-2021, on all the details related to the process, revenues and oil expenditures (based on the audit report of Deloitte International), in addition to Sending statistics related to non-oil revenues and border crossings and their revenues, depending on the annual financial statement of the Ministry of Finance and Economy in the region, not to mention sending tables of numbers and information for Kurdistan Region employees according to the biometric registration system.

He stressed that “the Kurdistan Regional Government always affirms its commitment to the principle of transparency to disclose oil and non-oil revenues to the public opinion and the federal government, and has so far responded accurately and in official letters to all inquiries and questions of the Iraqi ministries of finance and oil, as well as the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives.”

“At the same time, the region expresses once again its readiness to clarify any inquiries in this regard, in order to dispel all ambiguities and problems that may cast a shadow on the path of understanding and agreement between the two sides,” he concluded.

Baghdadtoday.news

The British Ambassador: Iraq will witness a great openness to the world

Baghdad / Obelisk: The British Ambassador to Iraq, Stephen Hickey, said Saturday, March 6, 2021, that Iraq will witness a great openness to the world.

Hickey said in a press statement, that he is “very happy with the visit of Pope Francis, to Iraq,” noting that “this visit represents an important symbol of peaceful and pluralistic coexistence in Iraq.”

He added, “The whole world is now focusing on Iraq, because the Pope is an important symbol for the whole world,” noting that “we will witness the opening of Iraq to the world in a big way.”

Almasalah.com

Member of Parliament: Parliamentary signatures submitted to restore the dollar’s ​​exchange rate

Baghdad today – Member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Jamal Cougar, confirmed today, Sunday (07 March 2021), that the political movement is still continuing within the House of Representatives, with the presence of parliamentary signatures submitted to the Parliament in order to restore the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar or reduce the current price.

Cougar said in an interview with (Baghdad Today), “The political movement in this regard is still going on, even there are requests that have been submitted with the signatures of a large number of members of Parliament to the Parliament for the exchange rate of the dollar.”

He added, “Those signatures remained unchanged, because the Finance Committee and Parliament do not have any authority to amend or return the exchange rate of the dollar,” stressing that “this matter is exclusively within the authority of the Central Bank.”

“It is difficult for the government to go in this direction, because changing the exchange rate or returning it to its previous price needs to be reformulated again,” he said.

Last Thursday, the representative of the Saeron Alliance, Riyad Al-Masoudi, confirmed that the Finance Committee in Parliament said that adjusting the exchange rate of the dollar must be done through a request submitted by Parliament to the Iraqi government .

Al-Masoudi said, in an interview with (Baghdad Today), that “the monetary policy, fiscal policy and economic policy are set by the Iraqi government in accordance with the Iraqi constitution,” indicating that “the invitation of the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hassan Al-Kaabi, for a parliamentary stand in order to reduce the exchange rate of the dollar, came after an intervention To MP Anaam Al-Khuzaie, it came within this context, and the session was not devoted to discussing the budget or the exchange rate of the dollar.

And that “Al-Kaabi stressed the need for the political forces to meet, on the issue of reviewing the exchange rate of the dollar, and this claim cannot be made individually from a deputy or a concerned bloc.”

He added that “there must be a request from the Iraqi Parliament, through the Finance Committee of the Iraqi government, to reconsider the issue of the dollar exchange rate, especially since the Finance Committee has representation from all political forces.” The dollar exchange will submit the request. ”

First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hassan Al Kaabi, called for a representative pause to return to the previous dollar exchange rate .

Al-Kaabi said, according to an official statement during a session on Wednesday, that “the increase in the exchange rate of the dollar has a negative impact on the Iraqi citizen’s life, and for economic stability in general .

He added, “There is a need for a serious and urgent pause for all members of the House of Representatives and the Parliamentary Finance Committee to return to the previous exchange rate .”

In response to the parliamentary calls to amend the exchange rate, Finance Minister Ali Allawi said in a press interview that “the dollar exchange rate is a governmental decision that cannot be changed daily as desired,” indicating that “the markets have accepted the current exchange rate and will give incentives over the coming years to the private sector and strengthen the reserves. His expression .

The increase in the exchange rate caused an increase in the prices of imported goods, while members of the Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed that raising it to 1,450 dinars against the dollar had harmed citizens twice, first because it reduced the value of their salaries and also because it raised the prices of goods in the market .

Baghdadtoday.news

Representative economic: the conditions are ready to adjust the exchange rate and the oil barrel in the budget

Baghdad Today – A member of the Parliamentary Economic and Investment Committee, Mazen Al-Faili, confirmed today, Friday, that the conditions are ready to adjust the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar, as well as the price of a barrel of oil in the draft Federal Budget Law for 2021 .

In an interview with (Baghdad Today), Al-Faily said, “The conditions are in place to restore or reduce the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar in the draft budget, but it is difficult to achieve this in light of the completion of the draft formulation, discussion and study in the Parliamentary Finance Committee, therefore we need to reformulate The project and this is not possible. ”

He added that “there is a tendency to raise the price of a barrel of oil in the draft budget law, in view of the high prices in the global markets,” stressing that “the current price contributed to the availability of large financial revenues for the state.”

The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hassan Al-Kaabi, had called on the Ministry of Finance to amend the exchange rate of the dollar, because citizens were affected by the current price.

Baghdadtoday.news