Masoud Barzani: The ground is prepared for a comprehensive peace process for the Kurdish issue in the region

The Kurdish leader and head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Masoud Barzani, considered on Friday that the ground is now prepared for a comprehensive peace process in the Middle East for the Kurdish issue.

This came in a speech he delivered during the launch of the Middle East Peace and Security Forum – MEPS 2024 at the American University in Duhok.

Barzani said in his speech, “In the Kurdistan Region, the elections were held despite expectations that they might not be held, or that problems would occur if they were held, but I would like to thank the citizens of Kurdistan who demonstrated their awareness and made us proud with this achievement.”

He added, “We hope that everyone will deal with legitimacy, and after the announcement of the official results by the Independent High Electoral Commission, the negotiation phase will begin between all parties to expedite the start of Parliament’s work.”

As the Kurdish leader also said, “We hope that you will support us so that in the future there will be one region, one parliament, one Peshmerga forces, and one government that represents all components of the region.”

He pointed out that in less than a year, legislative elections will be held in Iraq, and that the experience that took place in the Kurdistan Region can be used to benefit.

Barzani addressed the general population census in Iraq, saying: “We received assurances that there were no political objectives behind the census, and confirmation that it would not have any impact on the areas covered by Article 140 of the Constitution.”

He stressed that dialogue solves all problems, and today there is a good relationship between the regional government and the federal government and there is cooperation to solve the outstanding problems.

Barzani spoke about the situation in the region, saying: “The crises in the region and the scenes of war that we see in Lebanon and Gaza are unfortunate, and we hope that this war will stop and this tragedy will end,” stressing that “the most important thing of all is to keep Iraq away from this war.”

The Kurdish leader continued, saying, “We all expect that the situation will change after the new president is chosen following the US elections, and all expectations indicate that the administration of the new President Trump will be very different from President Biden’s policy.”

Shafaq.com

Because it contains a political aspect.. Parliamentary Wealth: The Oil and Gas Law faces difficulties

Member of the Parliamentary Oil, Gas and Resources Committee, Ali Abdul Sattar, confirmed today, Thursday, that the Oil and Gas Law has been facing difficulties since 2008.

Abdul Sattar told Al-Maalouma Agency, “The oil and gas law faces difficulties within the House of Representatives because it contains a political aspect between the region and the center.”

He added that “the law regulates financial matters and oil management for all governorates, especially the governorates producing oil and gas,” noting that “the reason for the law’s suspension is that it contains points of contention with the region.”

He explained that “the law is still in the government’s registry and has not been sent to the House of Representatives, despite the ongoing dialogues and discussions between the Baghdad government and the regional government.”

He added, “The dispute is still ongoing between Baghdad and Erbil over the oil file, and we are waiting for it to be resolved and for the law to be sent to the House of Representatives for discussion and approval.”

Almaalomah.me

Planning: Announcement of preliminary results of the general census in Iraq will be next week

The spokesman for the Ministry of Planning, Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi, said on Thursday that the ministry will announce the preliminary results of the general population census next week.

Al-Hindawi added in a special statement to Shafaq News Agency that the population census includes three stages, the first of which is the numbering and enumeration stage, which began on the first of September and ended on the 30th of October.

He added that the second stage is counting the population and recording their basic data, which takes place during the curfew on Wednesday and Thursday.

Al-Hindawi also pointed out that the third phase, which is the last, begins after the end of the second phase and continues until December 10, explaining that the third phase includes detailed data on the population, which are the social and economic characteristics of the population.

The spokesman continued by saying: The initial results will be announced after collecting and verifying the data, and this will be next week, either on Sunday or Monday, stressing that the announcement will be at an official press conference, and will include the results of the population of Iraq, the population of each governorate, the number of males and females, and age groups.

Shafaq.com

Center expects the number of seats in the Iraqi parliament to increase to 430 seats in the next session

The Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq expected, on Thursday, an increase in the number of seats of the people’s representatives in the House of Representatives during the upcoming sessions after conducting the general population census for the year 2024. However, it suggested canceling the paragraph that every 100,000 people should have a representative to avoid this increase in the number of seats and not to burden the country’s general budget.

The Vice President of the Center, Lawyer Hazem Al-Radini, said in a statement today that: Article (49) of the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq for the year 2005 stipulated that (the Federal Council of Representatives shall consist of a number of members at a rate of one representative for every one hundred thousand people of Iraq), and since the first elections for the Council of Representatives in its first session in 2005, the number of its members was 275 representatives, and in the second session it was 325 members, and in the third, fourth and fifth sessions that took place in 2021, 329 representatives were approved, and the excuse was the lack of a population census after 2003.

He added that the numbers have been confirmed and until a population census is conducted, the real number will be shown accurately, because all the data used previously is approximate, especially with regard to the distribution of the number of seats on the basis of each governorate and its share of 329 seats, indicating that there are governorates whose seats may increase and others may decrease as a result of the population movement that occurred between the governorates from 1996 to 2024, as there are security and economic circumstances.

Al-Radini continued by saying: After conducting the general population census, there will be two options for the House of Representatives. The first: amending the elections law by increasing the number of seats in the House of Representatives in its sixth session, which is expected to be no less than 430 representatives, and distributing them to 18 governorates, each according to its population according to the census.

He said: The second option is to work on amending Article (47) by cancelling the paragraph of one representative for every hundred thousand people and fixing the number at a maximum not exceeding (300) and submitting it to a referendum on the same day of the election of the next House of Representatives so that there are no financial costs that burden the state budget.

Shafaq.com

Putin calls Sudani over Middle East tensions

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani discussed, on Thursday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin via a phone call, the tensions in the Middle East and the joint relations between the two countries.

A statement from Al-Sudani’s office, received by Shafaq News Agency, stated that the latter received a phone call from Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which they discussed the joint relations between Iraq and the Russian Federation, and ways to develop them, in a way that achieves the mutual interests between the two friendly countries.

The call addressed developments in the region, stressing the importance of major countries making more efforts to end the war and prevent it from expanding in a way that threatens stability in the region and the world.

The phone call touched on the issue of energy and the importance of coordination between all concerned countries, within OPEC and the OPEC Plus group, in order to stabilize oil and gas prices within an equation that guarantees fair prices for exporters and consumers.

In turn, the Kremlin said in a statement, “President Vladimir Putin had a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, during which issues of bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, economy, transport, logistics and humanitarian services were discussed,” according to the Russia Today Arabic website.

“Special attention was paid to the implementation of large-scale projects in the energy sector and the mutual goodwill to continue expanding friendly and mutually beneficial relations was noted,” he added.

The statement pointed out that “various aspects of joint work within the framework of OPEC+ were discussed, which allows for maintaining the stability of the global oil market, and the importance of continuing to coordinate steps in this regard was emphasized.”

The statement indicated that the Middle East issue was also discussed, in light of the unprecedented escalation of tension in the region.

Shafaq.com

Central Bank of Iraq sales exceed $6 billion in a month

The Central Bank of Iraq’s sales from the hard currency auction of the US dollar during October amounted to more than 6 billion dollars.

Shafaq News Agency correspondent stated that the Central Bank sold, during the days in which it opened its auction for buying and selling the US dollar in October, 6 billion, 38 million, 229 thousand, and 179 dollars, at a daily rate of 274 million, 464 thousand, and 962 dollars.

Our correspondent added that foreign remittance sales last month amounted to $5 billion, 672 million, 463 thousand, and 159, an increase of 94% compared to cash sales, which amounted to $365 million, 766 thousand, and 20.

Our correspondent pointed out that these sales were distributed between transfers abroad to finance foreign trade, and cash sales to banks, where the selling price of documentary credits and international settlements for electronic cards reached 1310 dinars per dollar, while the selling price of transfers abroad and the cash selling price reached 1305 dinars per dollar.

Shafaq.com

The population census process has begun in all of Iraq

This Wednesday morning, the general population census process began throughout Iraq, as population census teams began spreading throughout Iraq to conduct the first population census since 1997.

These measures were launched with the imposition of a curfew throughout Iraq, which began at 12 midnight last night and will continue until next Friday.

Burathanews.com

Economist: Iraq has the ability to overcome the decline in oil prices

Economic researcher Diaa Abdul Karim confirmed on Tuesday that Iraq can overcome any decline in global oil prices, noting that there are many projects that have the ability to cover the decline in oil prices.

Abdul Karim said in a statement to Al-Maalouma Agency, “Iraq’s move to export oil derivatives represents a major qualitative shift and a new source of revenues entering the state treasury, instead of relying entirely on crude oil exports and the country being affected by any rise or fall in prices.”

He added, “Employees’ salaries are secured in the Central Bank and will not be affected by any sudden drop in oil prices, although this drop will not last long, especially in light of the unstable situation in the region that directly affects oil prices.”

He pointed out that “Iraq is on its way to reducing its dependence on crude oil exports, as the move towards exporting derivatives gives the country the opportunity to achieve revenues much higher than crude exports, which is a matter that pushes towards changing policies towards the process of building the budget, whether investment or operational.”

Almaalomah.me

Economist: The government is relying on weak reasons to diversify non-oil sources

Economic expert Diaa Mohsen confirmed today, Tuesday, that the government is relying on weak reasons to diversify non-oil sources of income.

Mohsen said in an interview with Al-Maalouma Agency: “The government was supposed to benefit from its oil revenues to diversify non-oil sources of income.”

He added that “investment in the agricultural, industrial and tourism sectors through the allocation of oil revenues, which could be an important source of funding for the budget,” indicating that “the government is relying on weak reasons and does not rise to the level of the problem.”

He pointed out that “the government is talking about the lack of water revenues while it is cultivating more than 12 million dunums with the consumption of 26 billion cubic litres of water, while it could have used 900 million cubic metres through modern agricultural techniques and saved the rest to produce other agricultural crops, which would be another resource for the budget.”

He pointed out that “there are external connections among suppliers that aim to serve the importing countries more than Iraq.”

Almaalomah.me

A global website predicts the population of Iraq for the year 2025

The German website Statista expected that the population of Iraq in 2025 will reach more than 45 million people.

The website said in a report seen by Shafaq News Agency, “The population of Iraq in 2025 will reach 45 million and 520 thousand people,” indicating that “the population of Iraq for the current year reached 44 million and 420 thousand.”

He added, “The total population of Iraq is constantly increasing between 2024 and 2029 by a total of 5.6 million people, and the total population is expected to reach 50.06 million people.”

Shafaq.com