Thursday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 8-3-23
Parliamentary Finance Reveals The Reasons For The Delay In Implementing The Budget
Economy 2023/08/03 number of readings: 129 Baghdad – Iraq: The Finance Committee spoke about the reasons for the delay in the instructions for implementing the budget by the Ministry of Finance.
Committee Member Representative Mustafa Al-Karawi said, in a press statement, that “the Ministry of Finance visited, and met with Minister Taif Sami, to search and inquire about the reasons for the delay in launching the instructions for implementing the budget, as the minister indicated that the amendment of the article on publishing the budget in Al-Waqa’i newspaper was the reason.” After it was sent to the State Council for discussion.
And the deputy stressed that “there are many problems with the issue of transfers that occurred by the House of Representatives, as well as the problem of the items that were appealed against, and there are items according to our information that will be challenged in the future, as well as there is an overlap in some items that caused confusion.”
And he pointed out that “the instructions will be issued today or next Sunday, according to what the minister indicated, as the instructions will be issued to begin implementation.” LINK
For These Reasons, An Economist Is Likely Not To Work On The Budget This Year
The economic expert, Nasser Al-Kinani, suggested that the general budget law not be implemented during the current year, while stressing that the budget has lost its effectiveness in view of the great obstacles facing its implementation from the Ministry of Finance.
Al-Kinani said in a press interview seen by “Takadam” that “the purpose of the delay that is happening now is the failure to approve a budget with these huge numbers, in addition to the large deficit that was voted on by Parliament,” noting that “in all previous budgets we did not witness this amount.” The huge number of objections to the Parliamentary Finance Committee.
And he continued, “There are new repercussions and negatives that will fall on the budget if its implementation continues to be disrupted on the ground during the current period,” noting that “the budget has lost its effectiveness in view of the great obstacles facing its implementation from the Ministry of Finance.”
Regarding the delay in implementing the budget until now, Al-Kani explains: “We expect it not to be implemented during this year, given the many economic and political facts.”
https://takadum-news.com/archives/176782
Iraq is outside the classification of the Index of Economic Freedom in 2023
Arab and international Economy News – Baghdad The American magazine Global Finance revealed the ranking of countries in the world according to the Index of Economic Freedom for the current year 2023, which takes into account the policies and economic conditions in 184 countries.
The Economic Freedom Index measures the impact of freedom and free markets around the world, and confirms the hugely positive relationship between economic freedom and progress.
The magazine specialized in classifying the countries of the world stated in a report seen by “Al-Iqtisad News”, that “the index measures economic freedom based on 12 quantitative and qualitative factors, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom:
- Rule of law (property rights, government integrity, judicial effectiveness)
- Government size (government spending, tax burden, fiscal health)
- Regulatory efficiency (freedom to operate, monetary freedom)
- Open markets (freedom to trade, freedom to invest, financial freedom).
This year, the UAE ranked first in the Arab world, with a score of 70.9 points on the index out of 100, while Qatar followed it in second place on the Arab list, with a total of 68.6 points.
Globally, the UAE and Qatar ranked 24th and 36th, respectively. On the global scale, Singapore ranked first with a total of 83.9 points, followed by Switzerland at 83.8 points.
The index rates between 80 and 100 points as completely free.
The global index did not witness the presence of Iraq in the classification, and did not mention any details related to it. Views 16 08/03/2023 – https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=35474
Al-Sudani Is Discussing With The Advanced Staff Of The Ministry Of Oil The Legislation Of The Oil And Gas Law
Policy 2023/08/02 Number of readings: 480 Baghdad-Iraq today: Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudanese directed, on Wednesday, the formation of a ministerial committee on the oil and gas law.
The media office of the Prime Minister stated, in a press statement, that “Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani held today a meeting dedicated to discussing the draft federal oil and gas law, in the presence of a number of leaders of political blocs , the ministers of foreign affairs, oil and industry, and the advisor to the minister of natural resources in the KRG, Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as a number of technical and legal advisors and experts.
He added, “The meeting witnessed a review of the latest drafts of the draft law, its details and provisions, and what the technical and legal committees worked on,” pointing out that “work is done to prepare the final draft of the law, in preparing for its approval in the Council of Ministers, and submitting it to the House of Representatives for legislation, according to the legal and constitutional contexts.”
Al-Sudanese stressed, during the meeting, that “the draft oil and gas law is one of the basic and important laws, and it represents a factor of strength and unity for Iraq, and it has been stuck for years, at a time when The country today is in dire need to legislate it and benefit from this natural wealth, in all fields and sectors, in addition to the contribution of enacting the law in solving many outstanding problems,” explaining that “there are governorates that have not invested their wealth until today, which is considered a negative matter for all development endeavors.”
He pointed out that “the law is part of the commitment to the ministerial curriculum, which was voted on by the House of Representatives, and it will take into account constitutional principles, in a way that guarantees a fair distribution of oil wealth, advances the reality of the economy in all its aspects, and contributes to the economic reform that the government has set in its priorities.
Al-Sudanese directed “the formation of a ministerial that would supervise the technical dialogues between the Federal Ministry of Oil and the Ministry of Natural Resources in the region, as well as inviting the governors of the oil-producing provinces, each committee of Basra, Maysan, Kirkuk and Dhi Qar, and the general managers of government oil companies to the ongoing technical dialogues regarding the law provided that these dialogues will be followed by the completion of the political dialogue to agree on presenting the draft law. LINK
Al-Sudani: The Draft Oil And Gas Law Is A Factor Of Strength And Unity For The Country
The first 2023/08/03 Al-Sabah, Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani held, yesterday, Wednesday, a meeting devoted to discussing the draft federal oil and gas law, in the presence of a number of leaders of political blocs, the ministers of foreign affairs, oil and industry, and the advisor to the minister of natural resources in the Kurdistan Regional Government, as well as a number of advisors and experts. technicians and legal.
The meeting witnessed a review of the latest drafts of the draft law, its details and provisions, and what the technical and legal committees have worked on, and work to mature the final draft of the law. In preparation for its approval by the Council of Ministers, and its submission to the House of Representatives for legislation, according to the legal and constitutional contexts.
Al-Sudani considered the draft oil and gas law to be one of the basic and important laws, and it represents a factor of strength and unity for Iraq, and it has been stuck for years, at a time when the country today is in dire need to legislate it and benefit from this natural wealth, in all fields and sectors, in addition to the contribution of the legislation of the law to solving many issues.
One of the outstanding problems, as he explained, is that there are governorates that have not invested their wealth until today, which is considered a negative matter for all development endeavors.
And he indicated that “the law is part of the commitment to the ministerial curriculum, which was voted on by the House of Representatives, and it will take into account constitutional principles, in a way that guarantees the fair distribution of oil wealth, advances the reality of the economy in all its aspects, and contributes to the economic reform that the government has set in its priorities.”
The Prime Minister directed the formation of a ministerial committee that would supervise the technical dialogues between the Federal Ministry of Oil and the Ministry of Natural Resources in the region, as well as inviting the governors of the oil-producing provinces, each of Basra, Maysan, Kirkuk and Dhi Qar, and the general managers of government oil companies to the ongoing technical dialogues regarding the law, provided that These dialogues will be followed by the completion of the political dialogue to agree on presenting the draft law.
During his meeting with the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Estonia, Hannu Belkur, the Prime Minister discussed the friendship relations between Iraq and Estonia and areas of development, as well as reviewing Estonia’s participation in the international coalition to combat terrorism, the importance of developing bilateral economic partnership, and expanding cooperation in the fields of cybersecurity and electronic governance.
Al-Sudani pointed out that the government seeks to arrange relations with the coalition, within the framework of combating terrorism, in a way that is compatible with the post-war period against ISIS gangs, and the need to confront the discourse that promotes and incites violence and terrorism, and stimulates hatred among peoples.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister chaired the third meeting of the Supreme Committee for Water, during which the position of strategic water storage in the country was reviewed, and release rates from neighboring countries, as well as follow-up on the implementation of previous directives issued by the Prime Minister, and the most prominent obstacles facing the implementation of plans prepared to confront Water crisis, and quick fixes for it. https://alsabaah.iq/81652-.html
An Iranian Official Reveals The Details Of The Oil And Gas Agreement With Iraq
Economy | 02/08/2023 Baghdad – Mawazine News, the head of the Association of Petroleum Products Exporters in Iran, Hamid Hosseini, announced that “Iraq will send us about 30,000 barrels of crude oil and 70,000 barrels of diesel in exchange for gas exports, starting next August.”
Hosseini said, during an interview with the Iranian “ILNA” agency, that his country “exported 18 billion cubic meters of gas last year, most of which went to Turkey and Iraq,” adding that “Iran exported $4.5 billion of electricity and gas to Iraq during the year.” only the past.”
Regarding the incompleteness of the prisoner exchange deal with Europe, the head of the Association of Petroleum Products Exporters in Iran explained, “It was agreed at some point to release European prisoners in exchange for the release of 2 billion and 700 million dollars from Iran’s frozen resources in Iraq, but the agreement was not completed.” However, only a part of the gas dues in Turkmenistan was collected and part of it was paid to the pilgrims.
Hosseini stressed that “this issue prompted Iran to cut off electricity and gas exports to Iraq, which led to the imposition of a kind of pressure on America by the Iraqi government, the media and political parties, considering that the electricity situation in Iraq has become critical due to the decrease in Iran’s gas exports by about 5000 megawatts, so that the atmosphere has become unbearable with the extreme high temperatures.
He pointed out that after these pressures, America allowed the Iraqi electricity debts to be deposited to Iran in non-Iraqi banks for a period of 120 days, in an attempt to solve part of the problem, noting that “if Iraq could start bartering in August and the American interventions could not hinder its implementation, it will continue to do so.” The future so that we can meet the full dues amounting to 20 million dollars a day, and receive other goods in exchange for previous debts.”
https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=232541
Baghdad Begins To Review The Budget Of The Kurdistan Region Of Iraq
Economy 08/03/2023 Number of readings: 303 Baghdad-Iraq today: The federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government signed a joint work agreement to review the regional government’s budget, starting today, Thursday.
The KRG has submitted its reference balance to the Iraqi Ministry of Finance since July 16, Omid Sabah, chief of the cabinet office in the KRG, told the government’s semi-official media.
He pointed out that “the scales were set according to the wishes and standards of the federal government, which was the desire of the Kurdistan region as well, and for this purpose, a technical team visited Baghdad and received the standards, and this includes a review of the first five months of this year in one package.”
He explained that “the Kurdistan Region sent an official letter to Baghdad, in return, in the event of any criticism, the federal government should notify the Kurdistan Regional Government in writing.”
He also said, “It is not the duty of the Federal Ministry of Finance to audit and review the general budget of the Kurdistan region, but the federal financial control according to the Federal Budget Law in coordination with the financial control of the Kurdistan region. They should audit and review the general budget of Iraq, including the region’s budget.”
He explained that “what happened is a kind of lack of experience and division of labor by the federal government and the authorities related to the budget.”
He added that “the technical delegation of the Kurdistan Regional Government is in Baghdad and signed a memorandum with the federal technical delegation regarding the trial balance, and the entire issue is scheduled to be audited today, Thursday.”
The Chief of the Cabinet Office stressed that “the situation is sensitive, and officials and parties must act professionally.” LINK
A New Reform Paper On The Parliament Table.. What Is It?
Policy |Today Baghdad today – Baghdad Today, Thursday (August 3, 2023), the Parliamentary Economy and Industry Committee announced the preparation of a comprehensive economic reform paper that contributes to moving the wheel of the Iraqi economy.
A statement by the parliament’s media department, which was received by “Baghdad Today”, stated that “the Committee on Economy, Industry and Trade, headed by Representative Ahmed Salim Al-Kinani, and in the presence of its members, held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss preparing the items of the economic reform paper.”
He added, “The committee has prepared a paper for a comprehensive economic reform of the Iraqi economy, which will contribute effectively to moving the wheel of the Iraqi economy, which suffers from structural problems as a result of the conditions that Iraq went through . ”
He continued, “The reform paper will be discussed in the House of Representatives, and after its approval, the government will be obligated to implement its provisions,” noting that “the House of Representatives and the Economy Committee are supportive of the steps taken by the government to revitalize the economy.”
The statement indicated that “the committee stressed the need for cooperation between the legislative and executive authorities to improve the reality of the Iraqi economy . LINK
