The Council of Ministers takes a number of decisions, most notably the signing of a tripartite agreement on electricity
The Council of Ministers held its thirty-first regular session today, Tuesday, in which the general conditions in the country were discussed, and the basic files included in the government program were discussed, in addition to considering the topics included on the agenda, and taking the necessary decisions regarding them.
According to the issued decisions, it was approved to sell wheat locally to officially licensed government and private mills, provided that the selling price is equivalent to the price of importing wheat of similar specifications, arriving at the port of Umm Qasr.
In the same context, and within the national product protection program, the Council of Ministers approved the imposition of a customs tariff on imported flour, gradually and progressively, with the increase in local flour production, reaching a rate of (25%) as a first stage, as follows:
1- (10%) from the date (September 1, 2024 until December 31, 2024), and (25%) from the date (January 1, 2025 until June 30, 2025), and the tariff will be reviewed after (6) months from the date of issuance of the decision.
2. Using local wheat to produce zero flour, and selling local wheat to mills at a price of (450 thousand dinars) per ton.
3. The Ministry of Trade and its contracting companies have contracted with Iraqi commercial mills to supply those covered by social assistance with zero flour under new contracts.
4. Limiting the provision of zero flour from local mills to the Ministries of Defense, Interior, Trade, Justice, Labor and Social Affairs.
5. Imposing a customs duty on imported cut flour (1 kg) at a rate of (30%) starting from the date (October 1, 2024).
In implementation of the government program, and in an effort to improve the health services provided to citizens, and within the government’s plan to contract with international companies to manage and operate modern hospitals, it was approved to grant an additional period of (60) days to submit letters of guarantee to the companies contracted to manage and operate the hospitals (Al-Nasiriyah Educational Hospital with a capacity of 492 beds), (Al-Imam Al-Mujtaba Hospital in Karbala Governorate), and (Al-Sayyab Hospital in Basra), as an exception to the instructions for implementing government contracts No. 2 of 2014.
The recommendations of the minutes of meeting (37) of the Diwani Order Committee (45 of 2018) were also approved regarding the development of the necessary means, mechanisms and solutions to complete public hospital projects, as well as the approval of the draft law amending the fifth law of the Cancer Council Law in Iraq No. (63) of 1985, which was reviewed by the State Council, and referred to the House of Representatives, based on the provisions of the Constitution.
In the electricity sector, the Ministerial Energy Council Recommendation (24067 T) for the year 2024 was approved as follows:
1. Signing a tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Electricity, Siemens Energy, and the Chinese company CSCES, to implement the Baiji Gas Power Plant (2) rehabilitation project, and approving the Chinese company (CSCES) as the main contractor, and Siemens as the subcontractor, provided that it is included as an essential part of the contract signed between the Ministry of Electricity and the implementing Chinese company according to the following obligations:
A. The Ministry of Electricity is responsible for obtaining government approvals.
b. The Chinese company (CSCES) is the main contractor, and is responsible for financing the project and supplying and installing the auxiliary equipment (BOP), related to the main equipment included (fuel and fire-fighting system, treatment and compressors with pipes and valves in addition to civil works).
A. Siemens is a subcontractor, responsible for supplying the main equipment (gas turbine, generator, main transformers, substation, and control centers), and is supervising the implementation of the project to ensure the workflow is carried out in accordance with Siemens’ global specifications.
2. Consider the possibility of transferring the aforementioned project within the Chinese Export Agency within the investment account.
The Council approved the inclusion of a framework project in the Ministry of Planning’s investment budget for 2024 under the name (Preparing the conditions for the return of the displaced in the liberated governorates and rebuilding the destroyed villages) at an initial cost of (100) billion dinars, to later determine the shares for each governorate and assign the governorates or the Reconstruction Fund to implement the notification of the government’s initiation of this file, in partnership with the governorates and the affected community on the one hand and the international community on the other hand; to encourage participation, provided that the annual financial allocations are provided in the 2025 budget schedule and the Federal General Budget Law for subsequent years, and that no financial commitment is entered into before the financial allocation is available, based on the provisions of the Federal Financial Management Law (6 of 2019) as amended.
The Council of Ministers continued to consider the file of stalled projects and study their causes with the aim of completing their implementation, where it approved the following:
1. Creating a component (complementary works to establish the Social Protection Network Department in Karbala), within the project (studies, designs, land acquisition, and establishment of the Social Protection Department in Karbala), and increasing the total cost of the project.
2- Implementing spare parts orders No. (8) and No. (9) for the (Baghdadi-Al-Dulaab-Anbar Water) project and increasing the reserve amount and the total cost of the project.
In the diplomatic field, the Council of Ministers approved the draft law to cancel the law ratifying the agreement exempting holders of diplomatic and service passports from entry visas, between the Government of the Republic of Iraq and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus No. (26) of 2023, which was prepared by the Council of State, and referred it to the House of Representatives based on provisions of the Constitution.
In the context of enhancing national security and supporting the national economy and national industry, the recommendation of the Ministerial Council for the Economy (24201 Q) was approved, which obliges all ministries and entities not affiliated with a ministry that use the liquefaction seals product (of various types) to purchase it from companies of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals instead of purchasing the imported foreign product, in implementation of Article (30/Second) of the Federal General Budget Law for the fiscal years (2023-2024-2025), due to the association of the aforementioned product with security, safety and health.
The Council of Ministers considered other topics on the agenda and took the following decisions:
First: Approval of the recommendation of the Ministerial Council for Human Development (24015 B), which includes the Ministry of Health joining the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health, provided that the aforementioned ministry does not incur any financial or legal obligations.
Second: Authorizing the Minister of Finance, or her delegate, to sign the loan agreement financing the fire engine equipment project for the Ministry of Interior, with a guarantee from the British Export Credit Agency (UKEF), based on the Federal General Budget Law for the fiscal years (2023-2024-2025).
Third: Approval of the Basra Oil Company’s donation of (Al-Murbad Water Pump) to the Basra Governorate Water Directorate, based on the instructions to facilitate the implementation of the federal general budget for the fiscal years (2023-2024-2025).
Shafaq.com