Al-Maliki’s coalition renews its position: There is no need for US forces in Iraq

Information / special… Today, the State of Law Coalition reaffirmed its position on the lack of need for various foreign forces inside Iraq, and while Washington’s allegations of the presence of these forces for training are “incorrect”, it confirmed that Iraq has a large army and combat forces such as the popular crowd.

And the House of Representatives had obligated, on January 5, 2020, the government to cancel the request for security assistance from the international coalition, and work to end the presence of any foreign forces on Iraqi soil and prevent them from using its lands, airspace and waters for any reason.

There is an agreement among all the leaders of the coordination framework regarding the lack of need for the presence of US and other foreign forces allied with Washington in the country, according to the speech of the leader of the coalition, Fadel Mawat, to Al-Maalouma.

Iraq has a large army – according to Mouwat’s words – and other fighting forces such as the Popular Mobilization Forces and the Federal Police, which are capable of preserving the external and internal security of the country, adding, “As for the presence of American forces fighting with this intensity inside Iraq, there is no need for it.”

Mawat stated, “The presence of these forces today is unjustified and constitutes a major problem for the sovereignty of Iraq, especially since the country has exited Chapter Seven,” pointing out that “Al-Sudani is consistent with this idea and demands the removal of US forces from Iraq.”

Today, Sunday, the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’a al-Sudani, reaffirmed his position that Iraq does not need foreign combat forces, but rather the need for advisory missions only without prejudice to Iraq’s sovereignty.

The leader of Maliki’s coalition confirmed, “There is an agreement with the American side in 2011 through which all these forces withdrew, but their return was through some weak personalities who took over the prime minister.”

And the leader of the coalition considered: “Washington’s allegations that these forces are used for consultations inside Iraq only, are false and incorrect.”

The representative of the Al-Fateh Alliance, Muhammad Karim, confirmed, earlier, that “the foreign forces are focusing on the issue of training the Iraqi army in order to ensure that they stay inside Iraqi territory to implement their malicious plans.”

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Parliamentary Finance: The dollar crisis will last for the next two months

Information/Baghdad… The Parliamentary Finance Committee expected, on Sunday, that the dollar price crisis will continue for the next two months, indicating that the government has not been able to fully control currency smuggling so far.

Member of the committee, Representative Jamal Cougar, said in a statement reported by Al-Sabah newspaper, seen by Al-Malooma, that “the fluctuations of the dollar depend on supply and demand.

The difference will be significant.” It is expected that “the current situation will remain for the next two months or more.”

And the deputy stated that “dollar smuggling depends on the fact that there are two types of dollars sold in cash, as the first is sold in the form of hawala bonds, and the second is sold in cash, which is smuggled at a rate of 20 percent, and the government has not controlled it until now.”

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The Iraqi Central Bank affirms its determination to stabilize exchange rates

The issue of turmoil in exchange rates and the resulting and resulting significant rise in the prices of basic commodities and foodstuffs is still a matter of concern and concern to the Iraqi authorities and ordinary citizens alike, especially with the lack of market response to the decision to raise the value of the dinar against the dollar by the central bank and the government, to 1300. A dinar against one dollar, after it was 1460 dinars for a dollar, and the lack of response was represented in one of its dimensions by keeping the exchange rate parallel to the official price at the ceiling of 1520 dinars to one dollar.

And within the framework of a series of statements made by Iraqi officials to restore exchange rates to their previous state, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Alaq, affirmed, yesterday, Wednesday, the central bank’s determination to stabilize the exchange rate of the dollar.

Al-Alaq said, to the official news agency, that “the new electronic platform to avoid any penalties imposed on the parties that carry out transfer operations, whether they are banks or others, as it is a protection for the banking sector, the central bank and banks from falling into any problem related to external financial transfers, and this serves all parties.” ».

Regarding the exchange rate of the dollar, which is still high compared to its official rate, Al-Alaq explained that “the responsibility of the central bank is to close the difference in the exchange rate, and our steps are serious and vigorous, and we receive great support from all parties to achieve the goal,” adding that “our discussions with the International Monetary Fund were fruitful.” Very much, and we agreed on programs that serve directly and indirectly to achieve this goal.

In turn, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, the economic advisor to the Prime Minister, said, “The electronic platform imposed by the US Treasury on central bank sales is a security officer for selling the currency.”

Saleh added, in press statements, that “the decrease in the sale of the currency by the Central Bank came due to old accumulations or its rejection by the electronic platform.”

For the first time, the government advisor reveals the percentages of money that are being smuggled to neighboring countries through the currency auction, where he said: “There is a fraud by taking the currency abroad by hiding it by importing materials that do not benefit the Iraqi people,” stressing that “the rate of counterfeiting currency transfers abroad reached 20%.

Saleh promised, “The main reason for the dollar crisis is the lack of control over the borders, which is a major sovereign issue, and it is necessary to control foreign transfers.”

On an issue related to the exchange rate crisis, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein said, yesterday, Wednesday, that the Iraqi delegation in Washington had reached an agreement with US officials regarding the dollar.

Hussein confirmed, in statements to “Voice of America,” that “an agreement was reached with American officials regarding the dollar, oil, gas, electricity, and a number of other issues,” noting that “Iraq imports most of its needs from abroad, and buys needs in dollars, so most of the dollars Go abroad for trade, but there was no organized mechanism to withdraw dollars from the central bank and Iraqi markets ».

The minister explained, “Iraq has taken banking measures, and now there is a mechanism. I see that the currency issue will be resolved gradually, and that the Americans have put in place a mechanism to monitor the withdrawal of the dollar, which affected the price, and this will stabilize step by step.”

Hussein continued, “Iraqi society imports almost everything from abroad, and we only sell oil, and the import needs the dollar, and this is the reason for the exit of the dollar from Iraq, and we did not have a mechanism to regulate the exit of the dollar, and we put in place a mechanism to regulate the currency and control the movement of the dollar.”

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A joint committee between Baghdad and Erbil to prepare the oil and gas law

Shafaq News / The Media and Information Department of the Kurdistan Regional Government announced, on Sunday, that the Kurdish delegation agreed with the Federal Ministry of Oil to form a joint committee to prepare and write the oil and gas law.

The department stated, in a statement received by Shafaq News agency, that this agreement was reached during the delegation’s meeting with the Federal Ministry of Oil, after its arrival today, Sunday, in Baghdad, to resume negotiations on the outstanding issues.

It is scheduled that the Kurdish delegation will hold several meetings with government agencies in Baghdad to discuss issues related to oil, the budget, the disputed areas and the region’s financial dues.

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Parliamentary planning expects the date of the arrival of the budget.. “The discussions in Baghdad and Erbil are continuing.”

Information / special… The Parliamentary Federal Strategic Planning and Service Committee expected, today, Sunday, that the file for approving the budget law for the year 2023 will soon be resolved, while confirming the continuation of discussions between the governments of Baghdad and Erbil.

The deputy head of the committee, Muhammad Karim, said in an interview with Al-Maalouma, that “the discussion of the 2023 budget file between the governments of Baghdad and Erbil continues until a final agreement is reached,” noting that “the budget file will be resolved soon, and there is nothing left to approve it.”

He added, “The Kurdish delegation came to Baghdad several times, and held several meetings with the Baghdad government, and matters related to the budget will be resolved and approved after the agreement.”

A member of the Parliamentary Planning Committee explained that “the budget law has not yet reached Parliament for a vote,” pointing out that “his committee is awaiting the arrival of the law in order to be studied and presented to the House of Representatives.”

And the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani, had confirmed that the approval of the budget law for the year 2023 will take place soon, after completing the final details and sending them to Parliament.

It is noteworthy that a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government arrived last week in Baghdad. With the aim of finding a joint agreement with the government regarding the region’s share in the budget, provided that it does not contradict the decision of the Federal Court.

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Al-Maliki’s coalition pledges approval of the budget to resolve the differences between Erbil and Baghdad

Shafaq News / The representative of the State of Law bloc, Muhammad Al-Shammari, pledged, on Sunday, the approval of the draft budget law for the current year, to resolve the differences and outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad.

Al-Shammari said, in a statement to Shafaq News agency, that the differences and outstanding issues between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, in addition to changing the exchange rate of the dollar, all of these matters caused a delay in voting on the draft budget law in the Council of Ministers.

He added that voting on the budget law and sending it to Parliament is linked to resolving the differences between Erbil and Baghdad, but he added that there is no specific date for sending the budget law to Parliament.

Last week, a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government visited the capital, Baghdad, and engaged in a round of dialogues with the ministries of finance, planning, and oil, to return today to resume discussions about the region’s share of the budget, in addition to working on the legislation of the oil and gas law and other issues.

It is noteworthy that the financial budget for the past year 2022 was not approved by the Council of Ministers and the House of Representatives due to the turmoil that Iraq witnessed after the early elections in October 2021, which escalated to dangerous levels that ended with the events of the Green Zone, with armed confrontations between supporters of the Sadrist movement and the security forces, which claimed lives. Dozens and hundreds injured.

After the end of the crisis, with the agreement of the political blocs to elect the President of the Republic and to grant confidence to the government of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’a al-Sudani, the latter pledged that he would present the draft federal budget law for the year 2023 as soon as possible.

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Parliamentary Finance reveals the results of the Iraqi delegation’s visit to Washington

Information / Baghdad… Member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Faisal Al-Naeli, revealed, on Saturday, the results achieved by the Iraqi delegation during his visit to Washington, noting that the delegation discussed with Washington lifting the restrictions imposed by the US Federal Bank on Iraq.

Al-Naeli said in an interview with Al-Maalouma agency, that “the Iraqi delegation’s visit to Washington came to come to an understanding about the dollar crisis,” adding that “the delegation discussed with Washington lifting the restrictions imposed by the US Federal Bank on Iraq,” and pointed out that “the negotiations reached multiple agreements”. This led to the Iraqi government being able to reduce the dollar in the last period.

He continued, “The Federal Bank’s actions restricted the movement of the dollar and delayed money transfers from the Central Bank to banks abroad.”

Ali Al-Fatlawi, a member of the Al-Fateh Alliance, accused the US of playing on the economy’s chord in order to achieve and implement its policies, pointing out that America is behind raising the value of the dollar currency in the Iraqi markets in order to achieve its goals.

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Baghdad and Washington will monitor the movement of the dollar through a mechanism

Shafaq News / The Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fouad Hussein revealed Thursday, a mechanism to monitor the movement of the US currency (the dollar) through the Iraqi government and the US Treasury Department, and while he indicated that each country has its own policy for dealing with countries such as Iran, he stressed that Iraq still needs forces American provides advice, training and exchange of security information.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein said in an interview with the Kurdish service on “Voice of America” ​​radio, which was seen by Shafak News Agency, that “Washington and Baghdad have agreed on a mechanism that will make it difficult for dollars to move without the knowledge of the Iraqi government and the US Treasury,” adding that “it did not go To visit Washington, to say that the dollar should not enter this or that country.”

Voice of America radio added that “the radio interview with Hussein dealt with his country’s strategic relations with the United States, the presence of foreign forces, and Iran’s influence,” while the Iraqi minister said that he “discussed in Washington the issue of the sharp decline in the value of the dinar, and that the Central Bank of Iraq took a number Of the measures that appear in this regard,” expressing his belief that “the price of the currency is slowly stabilizing.”

Hussein pointed out that “a system has been put in place through which Baghdad and Washington can monitor the destination of the money,” explaining that “under the new system, it will be difficult for dollars to be moved without the knowledge of the Iraqi government and the US Treasury,” adding that “a mechanism has been put in place To regulate the flow of dollars” from Iraq.

On the most important goals of Washington’s visit and the issue of the dinar, Hussein explained that “the main reason for our coming is to strengthen ties, especially in the fields of finance and economy, and among these issues is related to the currency. I believe that the discussions we had with the US Treasury and the Federal Reserve have reached a good result. The bank has taken The Iraqi Central Bank has a number of measures that seem to be supported.”

When the radio asked him about the steps taken by the Iraqi government to prevent money from going to Iran, the Iraqi minister explained that “the Iraqi society buys everything from abroad, from agricultural materials to foodstuffs, medicines and industrial goods, and if you look at Iraq’s trade or its trade balance with other countries, You will find that everything comes from abroad, as the Iraqi market and the Iraqi government spend a lot of dollars on that.”

And the Iraqi Foreign Minister stated, “For this, the dollar going abroad is a good thing if it is related to trade, but there was no mechanism for how to issue dollars from the central bank and who would get them from the Iraqi market and how they would go abroad, but now, a mechanism has been put in place to organize the movement Dollar This mechanism slowly controls the flow of dollars through smuggling or for other purposes.

When the American radio asked him if this mechanism would prevent dollars from entering Iran through Iraq, Hussein said, “We did not come to say that the dollar should not enter this or that country. We came here to regulate the conditions of the dollar in the Iraqi market, when it is regulated in the market.” Iraqi, this means that dealing in US dollars will be normal.

The minister continued, saying that “under the new system, it will be more difficult for dollars to go to another place without the knowledge of the Iraqi government and the US Treasury.”

In response to a question about issues that had not been agreed upon with the Americans, Hussein said, “We did not come here to agree on everything. They have their own policies, for example, they have their own policy towards Russia, and they have their own policy towards Iran. For us, Iran is a neighboring country, and we are We deal with it differently, that’s a fact.”

Regarding the position of the Iraqi factions regarding the presence of foreign forces, Hussein said, “It is clear that there is a need for the US forces that are still in Iraq to remain, for the security and military interests of Iraq.” He added, “Let me clarify something: These are not combat forces. Based on a mutual agreement, these American forces provide advice and training to the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga forces. They also helped us exchange intelligence information, especially with regard to (ISIS) terrorists.”

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The Iraqi oil and gas law is “without an internal agreement” and the Kurdistan Region fears the impact of the external decision

Shafaq News / Negotiations are continuing between Baghdad and Erbil regarding reaching an agreed-upon formula for the oil and gas law, which extends for 16 years without reaching the age of legislation, while the main Kurdish parties express their “fear” of the impact of an external decision that pushes it not to be legislated in parliament.

A member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Nihad al-Khayyat, said in an interview with Shafaq News agency, “This law and other laws passed for years without solutions, and without any clarification to the public opinion about the reasons for not approving this law, despite its association with Iraqi citizens from north to south.”

Al-Khayyat added, “The governments of Baghdad and Ariel must be serious in resolving the dispute over it, as it is linked to the implementation of other laws, such as the federal budget law. Therefore, resolving the law paves the way for resolving long-standing disputed files.”

He pointed out that “the prevailing atmosphere now is better than the previous period, despite the visit of dozens of Kurdish delegations to the capital, Baghdad, to negotiate this issue, and therefore this issue must be resolved before approving the federal budget for the current year.”

Members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party find that the region’s steps are moving day after day towards calm and a statement of goodwill to solve problems and reach partnerships that serve the public interest, but Baghdad has not yet decided to resolve these differences.

Serbest Barzo, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, said in an interview with Shafaq News agency, “The problem about this law and other laws lies in the fact that every four years, and sometimes every year or two, the region faces a new government and new positions from Baghdad, and therefore these problems remain in place.” .

He added, “Although the region has turned dozens of times towards Baghdad with the aim of solving these problems, we expect the presence of external hands from some regional countries pushing to recycle the problems, which makes the problem stagnant.”

Barzo explained, “Baghdad wants to control the region’s oil and at the same time does not want to hand over the region’s share of the budget in accordance with legal standards. In this case, the regional government will be facing a big problem related to the citizens’ sustenance and their monthly salaries.”

He continued, “The regional government, with the resolution of all differences at the negotiating table, without the influence of any external party on the Iraqi decision, and this is evident through the goodwill messages that the region sent to the Baghdad authorities over the past years, at a time when those messages corresponded to cutting people’s livelihoods and filing a legal complaint against the Kurdish people.” “.

The official spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government, Jutiar Adel, had announced on February 11, 2023, the arrival of a high-ranking delegation from the regional government to the capital, Baghdad, to resume dialogue on the outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad, most notably the Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget, the oil and gas law, and other files. of common interest.

The heads of the federal government, Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, and the region, Masrour Barzani, agreed to resolve differences and outstanding issues, including the files of the financial budget for the year 2023 and the oil and gas law in accordance with the permanent constitution of the country.

This came during a meeting that brought them together in the capital, Baghdad, on 11/1/2023.

The oil and gas law is still a matter of controversy in Iraq after talk of preparing for a new version of it, following signs of a dispute over its passage in light of the divergence of opinions about it within the coordination framework.

The oil and gas law, which has been stalled in the Iraqi parliament since its first session until today, is one of the most prominent points on which a preliminary agreement was reached between the two sides, but there are signs of disagreement that may affect the possibility of passing it.

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Japan: North Korea today launched a missile that could reach the United States

Shafaq News / The Japanese Minister of Defense revealed today, Saturday, that North Korea launched an intercontinental missile capable of reaching the United States, while Tokyo protested the launch of the new missile.

Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said in a press conference, “North Korea launched at least one intercontinental ballistic missile from the capital area, Pyeongpang, in the eastern direction, and at the present time this information is being confirmed, but we believe that its flight lasted 66 minutes and fell in the Sea of ​​Japan.” 200 kilometers west of Ushima Island, Hokkaido Prefecture, within our country’s exclusive economic zone.

“Based on the analysis of information about today’s launch, if the ICBM is launched along a conventional trajectory, it could have a flight range of 14,000 kilometers and could reach the US mainland,” the Japanese minister added.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the Japanese government, Hirokazu Matsuno, did not rule out that North Korea would continue to carry out provocative actions, including launching serious missiles and even conducting nuclear tests.

“The missile’s expected flight range is about 900 km, while its maximum flight altitude is 5,700 km,” Matsuno added.

He also pointed out that “repeated missile launches by North Korea, including the most recent one, pose a security threat to our country and the international community, describing it as completely unacceptable.”

“We do not rule out that North Korea will continue to carry out provocative actions later, including launching new missiles and conducting nuclear tests,” the Japanese official added.

The Japanese government lodged a strong protest to North Korea through diplomatic channels in Beijing in light of the new missile launch.

The US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) stated that the North Korean missile launch did not pose any direct threat to the United States and its allies. She explained that the US side was aware of North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile and is in close consultations with South Korea, Japan and other “allies and regional partners” in this regard.

“The United States condemns these actions and calls on North Korea to avoid any further illegal and destabilizing actions,” she said in a statement. “While we have concluded that what happened does not pose any immediate threat to US citizens or territory, or the security of our allies, we will continue to monitor the situation.” “.

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