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Thursday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 7-13-23

URGENT Cougar: Launching The Work On The Budget After July 18…And These Contested Articles

Time: 07/13/2023 00:19:17  Read: 4,277 times  {Economic: Al Furat News} The Parliamentary Finance Committee considered the delay in launching the budget “normal”, and the Ministry of Finance may launch work on the budget after the 18th of this July.

A member of the Finance Committee, Jamal Cougar, said, in a press statement, that: “Work on the budget will start after the 18th of this month, and the budget may be launched, and then the Finance Committee will start its work by following up on its disbursement process.”

He added, “The government was appealed by 12 paragraphs of the budget, and this is a natural matter and within its powers, and the matter now remains up to the Federal Court to consider appeals and submit a ruling,” noting that “the Finance Committee expected that some of the budget paragraphs would be appealed by the government, which was confirmed by the Minister of Finance.” However, the committee did its duty and added what it deems appropriate from the point of view of its members.

Yesterday, Wednesday, the Federal Supreme Court issued a state order to suspend six articles in the budget law, one of which deducts percentages from the salaries of state employees, while the other grants financial powers, while the Parliamentary Finance Committee suggested that budget funds be released on July 18.

And the court said, in a statement: It “issued a state order number (153 / federal / state order / 2023) on 7/12/2023 that included stopping the implementation of several articles until the constitutional case filed before this court to challenge its constitutionality registered in the number (153 / federal /) is decided. 2023).

According to the statement, the federation challenged Article (28/ Fourth: A-B), which obliges the Ministry of Finance to collect one percent of the total salary of state employees, except for the Ministry of Interior, to be placed in the Martyrs’ Fund of the Martyrs Foundation.

And Article (57/First-C) pertaining to the deduction of one percent per thousand of the total salary of military and civilian employees of the Ministry of Interior in favor of a newly established fund in the ministry called the “Internal Security Forces Development and Support Fund.”

And Article (65/Second), which stipulates that “university councils may contract with the private sector and hold participation in the field of building hospitals, investment laboratories, scientific productive factories, and agricultural and animal investments in a way that serves primary and higher studies, scientific research, and society.”

And Article (70/Second) related to adding additional allocations to the completed workloads for the governorates within the regions development plan and disbursed for the period from January 1, 2023 to June 1, 2023. And Article (71) related to obliging the government to end the management of all  institutions by proxy no later than November 30, 2023.

And  Article (75), which stipulates the adoption of the date 12/31/2019 instead of 10/2/2019 by Cabinet Resolution 315 of 2019, related to contract employees.  LINK

A Great Controversy After Al-Sudani’s Announcement… Iraqi Oil In Exchange For Iranian Gas Is A “Mysterious Agreement”!!

Political  scene Thursday July 13, 2023 at 13:36 PM (60 views)

Baghdad / Sky Press  The announcement by the Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani, of an agreement under which quantities of crude oil would be bartered for his country in exchange for obtaining Iranian gas to operate electric power stations, sparked a lot of controversy among economic and political experts and many pioneers of social media platforms.

After the issuance of the decision, some expressed their strong support, especially with the advent of the hot summer in which the need for household electricity increases, while another group denounced that agreement, considering that it prejudices the interests of their country and brings great benefit to Tehran.

Sources reported that the agreement was signed in Baghdad, explaining that “the director of the office of the Prime Minister, Ihsan Yassin al-Awadi, signed the agreement on the Iraqi side, while it was signed on the Iranian side by the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Baghdad, Muhammad Kazem Al Sadiq.”

The agency that “the agreement was reached after negotiations that lasted for several days, in which delegations and technical and technical committees from both sides participated.”

A report pointed out that the agreement comes “within the framework of the government’s effort to address the crisis in the supply of gas that powers power stations, and to avoid financing problems and the complications of US sanctions that prevented the continuity of paying import requirements. ”

For his part, Al-Sudani said in a speech addressed to the Iraqi people, “The decision will ensure the continuity of the gas supply, and the current crisis will end with it.”

He added, “The supply of Iranian gas has resumed, and the quantities will increase starting this evening (Tuesday evening), as 10 million standard cubic meters will flow, and it will return to the same previous quantities, and an agreement was signed in this respect.”

She claimed that “because of the lack of US approvals to transfer funds to Iran, gas supplies were stopped earlier, and decreased by more than 50 percent.”

He stressed that “Iraq has paid all its dues for Iranian gas amounting to 11 billion dollars, and it was deposited in the account of Iranian companies and we transferred 1.8 billion euros to Iran to pay gas dues.”

He pointed out that “the current national gas projects represented by the fifth licensing round and our contracts with France’s total, as well as the Basra gas projects, will end the need for import after completion within two to three years.”

Iraq imports electricity and gas from Iran, which together account for between 33 and 40 percent of its energy supplies, especially during the scorching summer months when temperatures reach 50 degrees Celsius and energy consumption peaks.

For his part, a spokesman for the US State Department refused to comment to Reuters on the barter agreement between Iraq and Iran, and did not address whether such an arrangement might violate US sanctions.

“There has been no change in the US policy towards Iran or Iraq. (US President Joe) Biden’s administration continues to implement all US sanctions on Iran,” the spokesman said, adding that Washington “strongly supports Iraq’s path towards energy independence.”

Iraq spends about $4 billion annually on gas and energy imports from Iran, while at the same time burning huge amounts of natural gas as a by-product of its fuel sector.

“necessary need”

Commenting on the benefits that Iraq will reap from the new agreement, the economist, Abd al-Rahman al-Mashhadani, explained that “the details of the agreement are still not clear, pending the issuance of more information from the Ministry of Oil.”

The Iraqi expert added, in statements, that “the agreement as a whole will be beneficial for the country, because, according to the prime minister’s statements, we still need between three to four years to achieve self-sufficiency, and we may then become exporters of this material, after we were consumers of it.”

Among the most important benefits that Iraq will reap in principle, according to Al-Mashhadani, is that the country “needs, during the peak seasons (summer), more than 50 million standard cubic feet to cover needs, but what we have is no more than 20 million, but that in the past year or that before him, we only had five million.”

Al-Mashhadani believed that the agreement came at the right time, “because the summer, when temperatures sometimes reach more than 50 degrees Celsius, becomes a season of unrest and popular protests fueled by power outages necessary for daily life, especially in the field of refrigeration, food storage and air conditioning.”

On the other hand, the head of the Kolwatha Center for Studies and Measuring Iraqi Public Opinion, Basil Hussein, believes that the agreement concluded is “unfair” and did not take into account the national interests of his country.

Hussein explained in a lengthy tweet that he posted on his Twitter page that the agreement will make Iraq buy energy from Iran at prices many times higher than global rates.  LINK

Parliamentary Finance Sets The Date For Launching The Budget

Money  and business   Economy News _ Baghdad  Yesterday, Wednesday, the Federal Supreme Court issued a state order to stop six articles in the budget law, one of which deducts percentages from the salaries of state employees, while the other grants financial powers, while the Parliamentary Finance Committee suggested that budget funds be released on July 18.

For its part, the Parliamentary Finance Committee considered the delay in launching the budget “normal”, and the Ministry of Finance may launch work on the budget after July 18, calling on the government to end the electricity file by investing in natural gas.

A member of the Finance Committee, Jamal Cougar, said, in an interview with the official newspaper, followed by “Al-Iqtisad News”, that “work on the budget will start after the 18th of this month, and the budget may be launched, and then the Finance Committee will start its work by following up on the disbursement process.”

He added, “The government was appealed by 12 paragraphs of the budget, and this is a natural matter and within its powers, and the matter now remains up to the Federal Court to consider appeals and submit a ruling,” noting that “the Finance Committee expected that some of the budget paragraphs would be appealed by the government, which was confirmed by the Minister of Finance.” However, the committee did its duty and added what it deems appropriate from the point of view of its members.

Regarding the electricity crisis, Cougar explained that “the government has put sums in the budget regarding Iranian gas dues, but the blockade on Iran by the United States prevents the money from arriving, calling on the government to invest in associated gas to end the crisis, to bypass the complications away from any external and internal interference.”

The court said, in its statement, that it “issued a state order number (153 / federal / state order / 2023) on 7/12/2023 that included stopping the implementation of several articles until the constitutional case filed before this court to challenge its constitutionality registered in the number (153 / federal / 2023).

According to the statement, the federation challenged Article (28/ Fourth: A-B), which is related to obligating the Ministry of Finance to collect one percent of a thousand of the total salary of state employees, except for the Ministry of Interior, to be placed in the Martyrs’ Fund of the Martyrs Foundation.

And Article (57/First-C) pertaining to the deduction of one percent per thousand of the total salary of military and civilian employees of the Ministry of Interior in favor of a newly established fund in the ministry called the “Internal Security Forces Development and Support Fund.”

And Article (65/Second), which stipulates that “university councils may contract with the private sector and hold participation in the field of building hospitals, investment laboratories, scientific productive factories, and agricultural and animal investments in a way that serves primary and higher studies, scientific research, and society.”

And Article (70/Second) related to adding additional allocations to the completed work loads for the governorates within the regions development plan and disbursed for the period from January 1, 2023 to June 1, 2023.

And Article (71) obliging the government to terminate the management of all institutions by proxy no later than November 30, 2023.

And Article (75), which stipulates the adoption of the date 12/31/2019 instead of 10/2/2019 by Cabinet Resolution 315 of 2019, which is related to contract employees.

Views 19  Added 07/13/2023 – https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=35137

Parliamentary Finance: We Expect The Budget To Be Released After July 18

The first  2023/07/13  Shaima Rashid  The Federal Supreme Court issued, yesterday, Wednesday, a state order to stop six articles in the budget law, one of which deducts percentages from the salaries of state employees, while the other grants financial powers, while the Parliamentary Finance Committee suggested that budget funds be released on July 18.

And the court said, in a statement: It “issued a state order number (153 / federal / state order / 2023) on 7/12/2023 that included stopping the implementation of several articles until the constitutional case filed before this court to challenge its constitutionality registered in the number (153 / federal /) is decided. 2023).

According to the statement, the federation challenged Article (28/ Fourth: A-B), which obliges the Ministry of Finance to collect one percent of the total salary of state employees, except for the Ministry of Interior, to be placed in the Martyrs’ Fund of the Martyrs Foundation.

And Article (57/First-C) pertaining to the deduction of one percent per thousand of the total salary of military and civilian employees of the Ministry of Interior in favor of a newly established fund in the ministry called the “Internal Security Forces Development and Support Fund.”

And Article (65/Second), which stipulates that “university councils may contract with the private sector and hold participation in the field of building hospitals, investment laboratories, scientific productive factories, and agricultural and animal investments in a way that serves primary and higher studies, scientific research, and society.”

And Article (70/Second) related to adding additional allocations to the completed workloads for the governorates within the regions development plan and disbursed for the period from January 1, 2023 to June 1, 2023. And Article (71) related to obliging the government to end the management of all

institutions by proxy no later than November 30, 2023. .

And Article (75), which stipulates the adoption of the date 12/31/2019 instead of 10/2/2019 by Cabinet Resolution 315 of 2019, which is related to contract employees.

For its part, the Parliamentary Finance Committee considered the delay in launching the budget “normal”, and the Ministry of Finance may launch work on the budget after July 18, calling on the government to end the electricity file by investing in natural gas.

A member of the Finance Committee, Jamal Cougar, told Al-Sabah: “Work on the budget will start after the 18th of this month, and the budget may be launched, and then the Finance Committee will start its work by following up on the disbursement process.”

He added, “The government was appealed by 12 paragraphs of the budget, and this is a natural matter and within its powers, and the matter now remains up to the Federal Court to consider appeals and submit a ruling,” noting that “the Finance Committee expected that some of the budget paragraphs would be appealed by the government, which was confirmed by the Minister of Finance.” However, the committee did its duty and added what it deems appropriate from the point of view of its members.

Concerning the electricity crisis, Cougar explained that the government has put sums in the budget regarding Iranian gas dues, but the blockade on Iran by the United States prevents the funds from arriving, calling on the government to invest in associated gas to end the crisis, in order to bypass the complications away from any external and internal interference.  https://alsabaah.iq/80596-.html

Parliamentary Finance: Work On The Budget Will Start After July 18. We Will Follow Up On The Process Of Disbursing It

Policy  2023-07-13 | 02:34  1,173 views  Alsumaria News – Politics  The Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed, today, Thursday, July 13, 2023, that work on the budget will start after the 18th of this month, while it indicated that the government has set sums in the budget regarding Iranian gas dues.

A member of the Finance Committee, Jamal Cougar, said, “Work on the budget will start after the 18th of this month, and the budget may be launched, and then the Finance Committee will start its work by following up on the disbursement process.”

He added, “The government was appealed by 12 paragraphs of the budget, and this is a natural matter and within its powers, and the matter now remains up to the Federal Court to consider appeals and submit a ruling,” noting that “the Finance Committee expected that some of the budget paragraphs would be appealed by the government, which was confirmed by the Minister of Finance.” However, the committee did its duty and added what it deems appropriate from the point of view of its members.

Regarding the electricity crisis, Cougar explained that the government has put sums in the budget regarding Iranian gas dues, but the blockade on Iran by the  United States prevents the money from arriving, calling on the government to invest in associated gas to end the crisis, to bypass complications away from any external and internal interference, according to the official newspaper. .   LINK