The first comment on Baghdad’s hosting of an expanded international conference to recover the looted funds

Shafaq News / The former member of the Anti-Corruption Council in Iraq, the expert Saeed Yassin Musa, commented today, Tuesday, on Baghdad hosting an expanded international conference to recover the looted funds.

Moussa told Shafaq News Agency, “This conference is being held by the Arab League and the Iraqi Ministry of Justice for the period from 15-16 September, in the presence of the justice ministers of Arab countries, and Iraq is a party to the Arab Convention against Corruption and ratified it in 2013, and all Arab countries are parties to the Convention United Nations Anti-Corruption 2003”.

He added, “The importance of holding this conference comes to activate the mechanisms for recovering looted funds through international cooperation between Arab countries in accordance with the Arab Agreement and the exchange of legal assistance between Arab countries, leading to mechanisms for freezing, seizing and recovering looted funds and the accused.”

And Moussa indicated that “the implementation of this agreement is an opportunity for cooperation between the Arab parties to contain and prevent money laundering and smuggling between the Arab countries,” stressing that “Iraq needs international cooperation and for the first time it puts money recovery and corruption proceeds after 2003 on the decision and action table.”

He continued, “We hope that the Iraqi Ministry of Justice will conclude bilateral agreements to recover money and criminals, exchange information, experience, and legal and judicial assistance with Arab countries, and provide an opportunity for the Integrity Commission to pursue these looted and smuggled funds, expand cooperation in the field of money laundering and reduce transnational corruption crimes by limiting and prosecuting mafias and restricting them.” “.

And the former member of the Anti-Corruption Council in Iraq continued, “The task of promoting integrity and combating corruption in it is a multiplicity and integration of roles between public authorities, supervisory bodies and international cooperation with taking preventive measures that are enforceable and commitment, and then the prosecution process comes through legal assistance and cooperation with judicial authorities in Arab countries.”

Moussa concluded his speech by saying that “the conference to be held is a great opportunity for Iraq to pursue criminals and looted money and recover them.”
It is scheduled to start in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on the fifteenth and sixteenth of this month, the activities of the proceedings of the international conference to recover the looted funds.

The conference is held under the auspices of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, with the participation of Arab League President Ahmed Aboul Gheit, a number of justice ministers, heads of judicial councils and regulatory bodies, as well as a number of representatives of Arab associations and organizations, and legal, academic, and media figures.

Shafaq.com

IRAQ AND SAUDI ARABIA DISCUSS STEPS TO ACTIVATE TRADE EXCHANGE THROUGH “ARAR”

Baghdad / National News Center – Today, Iraq and Saudi Arabia agreed to take new steps to activate the process of trade exchange at the Arar border crossing between the two countries.

The Iraqi Border Ports Authority stated, in a statement received by the “National News Center”, that “the Committee on Transport and Border Ports headed by the Chairman of the Authority, Omar Al-Waeli and his accompanying delegation, held a meeting today at the Arar border port, in the presence of the Saudi ambassador in Iraq, with the Saudi side headed by the Governor.” To the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, the Chairman of the Transport Authority and the delegation accompanying them,” noting that “the meeting comes as a continuation of the Riyadh meeting.”

Al-Waeli confirmed, according to the statement, that “points have been established to resolve all obstacles facing the process of trade exchange at the port in order to increase them and facilitate the procedures for entering goods for both countries.”

He added, according to the statement, “It was agreed to open a special office to certify certificates of origin after the approval of the Ministry of Commerce and to give facilities and priority to Iraqi importers and exporters alike.”

The statement indicated, “visiting the trade exchange arena and urging workers to expedite the handling and exchange process and complete the required requirements.”
He explained that “the port administration has been assigned to develop tight plans with the security services and departments operating at the port to ensure the inspection of goods and prevent the passage of any materials outside the controls.”

According to the statement, the Saudi side called for “supporting the port, increasing trade and activating transit as soon as possible, and naming coordinators between the ports to complete the roads to be completed by them in a manner that ensures the smooth flow of entry and exit of trucks.”

Nnciraq.com

The President of the Egyptian Senate confirms to Al-Halbousi that Egyptian companies seek to invest in Iraq

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Muhammad al-Halbousi, accompanied by a parliamentary delegation, met today, Wednesday, the President of the Egyptian Senate, Abdel Wahab Abdel Razek.

In a statement to his office on the sidelines of the meeting, Al-Halbousi stressed that “the relationship between the two countries is progressing at an escalating pace, and that the House of Representatives is keen to increase the pace of cooperation between the two countries and seeks to remove all obstacles to the implementation of bilateral agreements,” noting “the importance of expanding cooperation between legislative institutions to empower my government.” The two countries will work to implement joint programs in all fields.

For his part, the President of the Egyptian Senate indicated that his country “supports cooperation and partnership between the two countries and everything that contributes to achieving political and economic stability for Iraq,” stressing that “Egyptian companies in the public and private sectors are urged to invest in a number of fields, including the field of renewable energy, the pharmaceutical industry and research centers.” “.

Dijlah.tv

The white paper seeks to fundamentally change the nature of the Iraqi economy

Finance Minister Ali Abdul-Amir Allawi confirmed that the white paper seeks to fundamentally change the nature of the Iraqi economy.

Allawi said in an article published by the Guardian newspaper, “Estimates indicate that poverty rates in Iraq doubled in 2020 due in large part to declining revenues Iraq We cannot allow the livelihoods of millions of families to continue to be dictated by the unpredictable fluctuations of the oil market.”

He explained that “correcting this will require policies and investments that enable oil and gas producing countries such as Iraq From directing capital and labor to productive industries in the future and contribute to empowering and stimulating the role of the private sector. In fact, this was one of the main motives behind the economic reform white paper, which seeks to fundamentally change the nature of the Iraqi economy, allow the private sector to play a greater role, and reduce the dependence of Iraq on oil exports and a commitment to economic renewal focused on environmentally sound policies and technologies.

Allawi continued that “Iraq It can play an important role by taking advantage of the huge potential to produce and provide clean energy, as oil and gas production accounts for up to 40% of the total greenhouse gas emissions and the continuous burning of natural gas in oil wells, which necessitates our commitment to reduce gas flaring and investing it,” stressing that “increasing energy efficiency will have other benefits as well, and this means that we will not need to spend huge amounts to increase the general level of electricity provision, and that the deficit Iraq Providing enough electricity to meet demand has cost the country nearly $120 billion over the past seven years.

He pointed out that “increasing energy efficiency will allow the creation of job opportunities in areas such as the construction and maintenance of energy-efficient green buildings, as a recently published International Energy Agency report showed that for every million dollars invested in energy efficiency, up to 30 jobs are created, and that this matter extremely important in a country like Iraq which is witnessing large population increases that will need job opportunities in the future.”

“The worst potential solar sites happen in Iraq On up to 60% of direct energy from the sun, and that this percentage is higher than the best locations in Germany But nevertheless, the solar power plants it built Germany To date, it provides two and a half times more electricity to all oil, gas and hydroelectric plants operating in Iraq combined.
” And he noted “and let him be able to Iraq To move towards clean energy, it needs the financial resources, expertise and policies that will transform its economy in an equitable and affordable manner, and this requires international support. Otherwise, heading towards net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 will be a distant dream.”

Alsumaria.tv

Reforming the private banking sector according to the central bank’s methodology stimulates the economy

Several months ago, the government issued the white paper, which is the roadmap for the desired macroeconomic reform for the coming years.

The white paper, on pages 56 and 57, identified the main objectives for reforming the banking sector in the medium and long term between 3-5 years, and it is in fact an accurate diagnosis of problems that have already been diagnosed. By the Central Bank and the World Bank, and it has already developed solutions and urgent and strategic mechanisms for it, as is clear in the Central Bank’s strategy (2016-2020) and strategic banking projects for the years (2019-2023). The paper focused on the basic objectives of
private banking reform , as follows:

First – Pave the way for private banks to take their role as levers of the economy and end the role of government banks as an arm of bank financing.

Second – Addressing defaults in banks and the forced merger of troubled banks and restoring confidence with the public.

Third – Providing the appropriate environment to encourage banks to lend to stimulate the economy. Practicing the real business and not relying entirely on the currency window, guarantee fees and other banking fees.

Fourth – Completion of the application of international accounting standards (IFRS) and the development of banking work using modern banking techniques.

Therefore, the reform goals were based on detailed diagnoses of the current problems and obstacles that banks suffer from, which stand in the way of achieving the goals of reform. Since the issuance of the white paper, the Central Bank has begun to take measures to reform the banking sector since November of last year, according to its plan based on its strategy for monetary policy applications for that. The Bank issued lending initiatives to stimulate the economic cycle and activate the financing of small, medium and housing projects and to move at a confident pace to move the banking business from the banking role to the developmental role.

The urgent procedures and solutions for banking reform can be identified
as I see them as follows:

First – making decisions on financial policy to restore balance between government banks and private banks in terms of capital, activity and tasks, and focus on starting the structuring of the Rafidain and Rasheed Banks, according to what was stated in agreement with the World Bank several years ago.

Second – Through an analytical view of the reality of the Iraqi economy and the challenges facing the fiscal and monetary policies, in particular stimulating and revitalizing the economy with bank financing requires clarity of financial policies and coordination with monetary policy in stimulating the economy.

Third – Taking immediate measures to redistribute the banking density of private banks in proportion to the actual need of the Iraqi economy and towards stopping the granting of new licenses to establish new banks, and starting to rehabilitate troubled banks and study the economic feasibility of continuing to work or merging them according to the merger guide issued by the Central Bank in 2019.

Fourth – that the nature of the activities of banks depends on the nature of the activities of other economic sectors, and as long as the economic activity is concentrated in trade (imports), the activity of banks remains focused on external transfer, and this means that the problem of the currency window is not in the supply of the dollar from the central bank, but rather the reason is the demand for the dollar. Therefore, unless other sectors (industry, agriculture, tourism and others) move, we cannot expect diversification of banking activity.

It is worth noting that without controlling imports, these sectors will not rise, because without support for the local product, the demand for the dollar cannot be reduced.

Fifth –  It is necessary to provide a legal environment and extend the authority of the law in order to eliminate the phenomenon of default in the repayment of loans, as the non-performing debts amounted to (5 trillion dinars), 70% of which are the debts of government banks and 30% of the debts of private banks, which constitute a large percentage of the total monetary credit granted.

Sixth – Activating the implementation of the decisions of the Council of Ministers and the Economic Affairs Committee in the Council of Ministers, which were previously issued to support the banking sector, in particular private banks, to open accounts for ministries and government departments, accept certified instruments, and open documentary credits to the government in the amount of 50 million dollars without going through the Ministry of Finance and the Iraqi Trade Bank and other decisions Concerning borrowing for investment projects, collecting taxes and customs fees, and settling salaries.

Because on the contrary, it will lead to obstructing the work and activities of private banks and greatly affect their liquidity, revenues and deposits, and delay the transition of banks from the role of banking to the developmental role as established in the white paper.

Seventh – Considering bad debts claims owed by customers in private banks are urgent cases and excellent debts, similar to government debts.

Eighth – Working to provide conditions and take measures to help private banks obtain the internationally approved credit rating, and thus strengthen international banking relations with correspondent banks.

Economy-news.net

Parliamentary movement to change the dollar exchange rate in Iraq’s budget for 2022

News source / First News Agency – A member of the Parliamentary Economy and Investment Committee, Nada Shaker Jawdat, revealed today, Tuesday, the existence of a parliamentary movement aimed at changing the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar in the draft budget law for the year 2022.

Jawdat said, in a statement received by (Al-Oula News), that “the Iraqi government, until this moment, refuses to restore the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar, as it was before, especially after the disappearance of all justifications for raising this price, which greatly affected the lives of citizens from raising it. Food prices and others, and these justifications ended with the rise in oil prices and the presence of financial abundance to fill the remaining budget deficit.”

She added, “The Iraqi government’s insistence on its refusal to return the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar, as it was previously, prompted a new parliamentary movement, which will be effective during the coming days, for the purpose of which the exchange rate in the 2022 budget is different from the current budget.”

She stressed, “This matter is supported by the majority of deputies, and the new parliament will certainly have a position on this important economic file.”

Awla.news

Parliamentary Finance calls for a review of the exchange rate: all the justifications for raising the dollar have not been met

Baghdad / The Finance Committee says that all the justifications for changing the exchange rate of the dollar compared to the Iraqi dinar have not been achieved, denying the existence of a decrease in the sales of the Central Bank so far, stressing the continued flow of hard currency out of Iraq.

The committee stated that considering the decision is premature and will be with the draft budget law for the next year, which is still in the custody of the government, and talked about the parliament’s having the authority to intervene and address the severe economic effects it left on the simple citizen, by reconsidering or amending it.

Committee member Naji Al-Saidi said, in a statement to Al-Mada, that “the proposal to set the dollar exchange rate is a governmental and executive matter, before it falls within the competence of the House of Representatives.”

Al-Saidi, a representative of the Sairoon bloc, added, “An article in the budget laws that comes from the government in the form of a project, in which the exchange rate is set, and is discussed with the rest of the budget items in the House of Representatives.”

He pointed out, “Knowing the total government revenues is done in light of determining the price of the dollar compared to the Iraqi dinar, and setting an appropriate price for a barrel of oil, and here the parameters of the budget will become clear to us in terms of revenues, expenditures and the amount of the planned deficit.”

And Al-Saidi, “The Finance Committee in the House of Representatives has not yet received the draft budget law for the next year, and we do not know anything officially about the price of the dollar.”

And while he saw that “talking about setting a new price or maintaining what it is currently is, it is still premature.” next.”

Al-Saidi denied that “the main and only reason behind changing the exchange rate is to cover the budget deficit as it is promoted in the media.”

The member of the Finance Committee explained, “The goal was much further than that, and in light of this, the so-called white paper related to reforming the economic and financial system in Iraq was issued.”

Al-Saidi finds, “None of the objectives of raising the exchange rate has not been achieved, whether at the financial level related to the deficit, or the monetary related to reducing the sale of reserves of hard currency, in addition to achieving development,” stressing that “all these justifications have no effect on the ground.” Reality”.

And he added, “The House of Representatives, whether it is in the current or subsequent session, has the right to exercise its constitutional powers and amend the dollar exchange rate and return it to what it was in the past, especially with the absence of its justifications.”

Al-Saidi went on to say that “the functions of the House of Representatives regarding the budget are clear and defined by Article 62 of the constitution, which is reducing the total amounts or transfers between chapters, and changing the exchange rate if it comes within these two frameworks, then it is considered a project, whether by amending the government’s orientation or returning to what it was in the past.” .

And Finance Minister Ali Abdel Amir Allawi had stated in a dialogue session last month, with a number of journalists and media professionals, attended by (Al-Mada), that “the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar will not change in the next budget, as it reflects many issues and raises it to the benefit of some economic sectors.”

“Another committee member, Abdel Hadi Al-Saadawi, agreed with Al-Saeedi, that “changing the dollar exchange rate did not achieve any of the goals that the government promised.”

Al-Saadawi, a representative of the State of Law coalition, added, in a statement to (Al-Mada), that “the government had promised that it would encourage the national product and provide job opportunities for the unemployed.”

He regrets that “all those promises were not implemented. On the contrary, the decision contributed to increasing the burdens on the citizen, especially the poor and middle classes.”

Al-Saadawi finds that “talking about providing funds to the government as a result of this decision is scientifically inaccurate, as it contributed to obtaining sums temporarily and not permanently.”

He noted, “This comes at a time when the Central Bank continues to operate through the currency sale window in an unthought manner, and this contributed to the exit of large quantities of hard currency abroad.”

Al-Saadawi added, noting “the importance of reconsidering these decisions in the next budget, and that they meet the aspirations of the Iraqi street, and do not contribute to increasing the burdens on it.”

And he spoke, “It is not possible to complete the discussion of the budget during the remainder of the parliament’s life, and its legislation will be postponed until next year due to the approaching date of the elections.”

Al-Saadawi concluded, “The need to resort to other available resources to secure important revenues for the state away from pressure on the citizen, and at the forefront of those revenues are the revenues of border crossings, customs and fees.”

The budget for the current year had raised the dollar’s exchange to 1450 dinars, but this price did not remain fixed, but witnessed a change in the market, sometimes reaching 1490 dinars or a little less.

Sotaliraq.com

Al-Kazemi confirms: We have reached “full readiness” to hold the October vote on time

Baghdad – Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi confirmed, on Tuesday, that he has reached full readiness with regard to holding the elections next October, after the government completed all the requirements of the technical and security electoral process.

Al-Kazemi stressed during the cabinet session, (September 7, 2021), “the importance of integrative work between state institutions, in order to achieve the desired goals and push the wheel of development forward, in a way that contributes to upgrading the country’s reality, and its repercussions on the lives of citizens.”

“We have reached full readiness with regard to holding the elections next October, after the government fulfilled its obligations and completed all the technical and security requirements of the electoral process,” he stressed.

The Prime Minister called on political forces and social activities to “push towards urging citizens to participate broadly in the elections.”

Nasnews.com

IRAQ FINANCE EXPO

22 – 23 SEPTEMBER 2021

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https://ifexiraq.com

Al-Kazemi and Al-Awdat discuss ways to facilitate bilateral integration between Iraq and Jordan

Baghdad – Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi received, on Saturday, the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Kingdom of Jordan, Abdel Moneim Al-Awdat, while they discussed ways to facilitate bilateral integration between the two countries.

Al-Kazemi welcomed the guest delegation, and emphasized the depth of bilateral relations between Iraq and Jordan, which recently reached a high level of cooperation, praising the role of King Abdul God the Second Bin Al Hussein in developing these relations, and this was evident in his active presence in the tripartite summits, as well as in the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership.

Al-Kazemi added that “the consolidation of relations between Baghdad and Amman positively reflects on the stability of the region, as well as the achievement of strategic and economic partnerships,” and urged parliamentarians in both countries to “work to facilitate the process of bilateral and regional integration, which was initiated by the Iraqi and Jordanian governments.”

The Prime Minister stressed that “Iraq has gone through difficult circumstances, and is now in the stage of recovery, and moving towards the normal situation it deserves.”
For his part, Jordanian Parliament Speaker Abdel Moneim Al-Awdat conveyed the greetings of King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein to the Prime Minister, stressing the Kingdom’s keenness to build the best relations with Iraq, as well as his blessing for the success of the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership, which Iraq recently hosted.

He praised “the steps taken by the Iraqi government towards adopting a policy of dialogue and calm to ensure the stability of the region, as well as Jordan’s appreciation of Iraq’s role in fighting terrorism that threatens the security of the entire region.”

Al-Awdat stressed that “the balance and recovery that Iraq is witnessing are two things that deserve support and backing.”

Nasnews.com