American website: Al-Sudani’s visit to Washington was to discuss partnership, not the removal of the American presence

A report by the American website War on Rock, which specializes in political affairs, confirmed that the previous visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani to Washington was in search of partnership and not the removal of the American military presence from the country.

The report, translated by the Maalouma Agency, stated, “The Sudanese came to Washington looking for a new type of partnership with the United States, and from Baghdad’s point of view, the relationship with the United States has been greatly exaggerated in the security file.”

He added that “Iraq, under the leadership of Al-Sudani, wants to “transform the relationship… from a unilateral relationship to a comprehensive relationship,” while Iraq realizes that oil and gas will be among its primary specialties for some time to come, as Al-Sudani’s visit to Houston to meet with energy companies there showed. , he also realizes that he needs to use those revenues (or at least the small portion left afterward) as seed capital to diversify.

“There are many positive signs of economic development in Iraq, but further U.S.-Iraq trade relations, especially outside the oil and gas industry and defense sales, are likely to progress slowly, without significant Iraqi concessions, and a dark cloud of corruption and lack of transparency always hangs over them, at least until Iraq takes serious steps on these issues,” he said.

The report noted that “the United States is exerting pressure to prevent Iraq from being linked to the Iranian economy in general and from being granted access to dollars in particular, so how Iraq might be able to develop a non-oil economy while being isolated from its larger eastern neighbor (and Syria to the west as well) remains undetermined, as the United States has effectively left Iraq to breathe with one economic lung, Turkey, as it is a U.S. ally.”

Almaalomah.me

With the participation of 100 companies.. Sulaymaniyah hosts the “Made in Iraq” festival in its second edition

The activities of the Sulaymaniyah National Industries Exhibition (Made in Iraq) in its second edition were launched today, Thursday, with the participation of about 100 Iraqi companies from various industrial and food specialties, in a step to encourage the local consumer to support national production.

Golan Nirwan, Marketing Director at the Sulaymaniyah International Fair, told Shafaq News Agency, “With the aim of encouraging the local product, the activities of this festival, in its second edition, were launched today in Sulaymaniyah by the Atlas Company, in cooperation with the Sulaymaniyah Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and with large participation from the region’s factories, reaching 60% of the participation.” Participants.”

She added, “These exhibitions are an economic gateway for acquaintance between Iraqi companies and investors in the Kurdistan Region, and they are a good gesture for Iraqi companies and industries to display their solid national production in front of imported production that competes with them in terms of quality and efficiency.”

Nirwan confirmed that “the exhibition will last for four days, and the Minister of Industry and Trade in the regional government, the Governor of Sulaymaniyah, and a number of government officials attended its opening today. It is sponsored by the Ministries of Industry and Minerals in the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Region.”

Shafaq.com

Sunni blocs agree with the coordination framework on an extraordinary session to elect Al-Halbousi’s replacement

A Sunni representative revealed, on Wednesday, an agreement between the Sunni and Shiite blocs to hold an extraordinary session to elect a new speaker of the House of Representatives, stressing that the acting Speaker of the House, Mohsen al-Mandalawi, will inform the representatives next week of the date of the upcoming session.

The representative, who preferred not to be named, said in a statement to Shafaq News Agency, “There is an agreement between the Sunni political blocs and the coordination framework to hold an extraordinary session of the House of Representatives to elect a new Speaker of the House, and the Acting Speaker of the House, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, will inform the representatives that a session will be held next week to elect New Speaker of Parliament.

He pointed out that “there is a competition for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives between Representatives Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani and Salem Al-Issawi, but Al-Issawi has a great chance of assuming the position after more than 10 representatives defected from the Taqadum Party and announced the formation of a new bloc, while others considered themselves independent representatives.”

On November 14, 2023, the Federal Supreme Court, “the highest judicial authority in Iraq,” decided to terminate the membership of Parliament Speaker Muhammad Al-Halbousi, against the backdrop of a lawsuit filed against him by Representative Laith Al-Dulaimi, in which he accused him of forging his (Al-Dulaimi’s) resignation from membership in the House of Representatives. As a result, the Federal Court ruled to terminate their membership (Al-Halbousi and Al-Dulaimi).

On November 21, 2023, the Presidency of the Iraqi Council of Representatives decided to officially terminate the membership of Council Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi.

Since then until this June, the House of Representatives held several sessions to elect a new Speaker of the House, but the disagreements of the Sunni political forces prevented this.

On June 6, the representative of the Coordination Framework, Salem Al-Anbaki, confirmed to Shafaq News Agency, “The defection of a group of representatives from the Taqaddam Party has made it lose the right to claim to represent the Sunni parliamentary majority, and the majority has become clear to the other party, whose cohesion has been shown by the steadfastness of representatives within the Sovereignty and Determination Alliance.” The decision is now with them and they are part of the representatives of progress.”

On June 6, 11 representatives in the Iraqi parliament and members of the provincial councils announced their defection from the “Taqaddum” party bloc, headed by Muhammad al-Halbousi, and the establishment of a political front called the “Initiative” bloc.

In the statement, the MPs and dissident members attributed the reason for their taking this step to “the state of stagnation that political life has reached, and the inability of the legislative authority to elect a new speaker of Parliament for many months, which prompted us to establish the (Initiative) bloc to break the closure in the political scene.”

Shafaq.com

Allawi: Iraq is living in an undeclared civil war, and we must correct it before we lose it

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi warned that Iraq is experiencing an “undeclared civil war” between its components, while criticizing Washington for not providing protection for the democratic experiment in the country. He warned of the dangers of the “proliferation” of ISIS and terrorists through prisons unless they are reformed.

In an interview with the English newspaper “The National” with Allawi, who is considered the first prime minister after 2003, and the report described him as a “secular Shiite Arab” and a former vice president, he said that “prisons have turned into fertile ground for extremism,” adding that the conflict was in Previously, “between Sunnis and Shiites, and now it includes clans, regions, and governorates, and if the problem continues in this way, it will be a civil war throughout the country.”

It has been 20 years since he took office in Baghdad.

During the interview conducted with him at his home in London, 20 years after assuming office, Allawi said that prisons are “a breeding place for ISIS” and that the extremist group may be on the rise, adding that one of the solutions is to “cleanse the prisons” of “those accused for political reasons.” “And there must be amnesty.”

After Allawi pointed out the need for there to be a push towards national unity and reconciliation between the various ethnic and religious components, he expressed his disappointment with what Iraq has faced during the past two decades since the American invasion that led to the dismantling of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the security forces and the law enforcement authorities, as years of corruption and sectarianism have dominated politics since that time, and ethnic and sectarian parties have infiltrated ministries and government positions.

The report noted the years of violence and brutal war in 2006 and then the rise of ISIS in 2014. The report quoted Allawi as saying: While these periods of turmoil appear to have ended, the same strong and destructive tensions are rising again, behind the scenes.

According to Allawi, “There is now an undeclared civil war. I was against the occupation and the war, but the Americans wanted to divide the country into Sunnis and Shiites, and now we see Shiites versus Sunnis, Shiites against themselves, and Sunnis against each other,” noting that “the Sunnis cannot yet elect A man to head Parliament because of their differences.”

After the report referred to the 2005 constitution, Allawi was quoted as saying, “The mistake was that we did not apply equal citizenship to everyone, and we had a government run by quotas.”

The report quoted Allawi, who described him as a politician who led the country for 9 turbulent months, as saying that the United States and its allies did not protect democracy in Iraq, which led to an endless internal conflict that spread to the region.

While the report indicated that Allawi won the 2010 elections, he was unable to achieve a majority. It accuses Iran of obstructing his attempt to become prime minister, as Nouri al-Maliki came in his place. Allawi was quoted as saying: “Iran played a very negative role… and it has The Americans supported us from the beginning.”

The report quoted Allawi as saying, “Iran played a role when America overthrew Saddam. It cooperated with the Americans and they began to dictate matters with the course of events in Iraq, until 2010 when they came and said: Allawi cannot form a government.”

After the report pointed out that Allawi led a coalition government that it said was committed to a secular future for Iraq, it indicated that Allawi considered that the prevailing political conditions at the time of the elections and the voting mechanisms were not conducive to a fair voting system, adding that “if I had realized that this was the case “When the elections were held.” He continued, saying, “There should not have been any group or list that appeared as Shiite, Sunni, or Kurdish. This is something I should have done.”

The report indicated that Allawi recently informed senior politicians in Baghdad from the government of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani of his concerns, but they responded by saying that they were unable to do anything about this situation.

Allawi said, “I said why? What is the problem? You have to do this. You have to call for early elections. We really need to correct ourselves before we lose all of Iraq.”

According to the report, Allawi holds the United States responsible for creating a division in the country between Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds and igniting sectarian tensions.

He was quoted as saying, “This type of problem occurred in Iraq at that time, and gradually multiplied over time to become the Iraq we know now.”

After the report pointed to the years of violence and brutal war in 2006 and then the rise of ISIS in 2014, the report quoted Allawi as saying: While these periods of turmoil appear to have ended, the same strong and destructive tensions are rising again, behind the scenes.

While the report mentioned the attack on KFC restaurants in Baghdad, the report quoted Allawi in a comment in which he said that these attacks raise questions about whether it is possible to maintain relative calm and stability in Iraq during the years following the defeat of ISIS. These attacks highlight the The militias escape.

Allawi continued, saying, “If this continues, we will witness a direct attack on the Americans stationed in Iraq, and this is a great possibility.”

The report quoted Allawi warning of the possibility of dividing Iraq if disagreements between political parties continued.

Allawi stressed, “We need the rule of law and national unity, and we need to apply the concept of citizenship. As you know, Iraqis are ready to drown in the sea rather than be citizens of a country that fails to provide adequate public services.”

Shafaq.com

Iraqi Dinar / US Dollar auction results for today 6-24-2024

Results of the foreign currency selling window for Monday 6/24/2024

Advertisement No. (5148)

The amount:

Total amounts of transfers abroad (transfers, credits)
254,066,415

Total cash withdrawals
20,180,000

Total total sales
274,246,415

Note that: The selling price of documentary credits and international settlements for electronic cards is ( 1310 ) dinars per dollar.

The selling price for transfer amounts abroad is ( 1310 ) dinars per dollar.
The cash selling price is ( 1305 ) dinars per dollar.

cbi.iq/currency_auction

Al-Maliki’s coalition: Iraq can submit an international request to remove American forces

The leader of the State of Law coalition, Saad Al-Muttalabi, confirmed today, Sunday, the possibility of Iraq submitting an official request to the United Nations to remove American forces from Iraq.

Al-Muttalabi told Al-Maalouma Agency, “Removing American forces from Iraq requires a unified position by all components to put pressure on the government to proceed with the procedures for the exit of foreign forces, especially the American ones, from Iraq.”

He added, “The presence of American forces in Iraq is linked to a political decision of the American administration, which requires the government to research this matter.”

Popular, political and tribal demands are increasing for the necessity of removing foreign forces, led by the American forces, from Iraq as soon as possible, warning at the same time of a dangerous escalation if their crimes against the security services and their infringement on the country’s sovereignty continue.

Almaalomah.me

Dozens of Iraqi companies participate in an investment summit in America

The US Ambassador to Baghdad, Alina Romanowski, announced on Sunday that more than 30 Iraqi companies will participate in a summit related to investment projects in the United States available to foreign companies.

Today, Romanowski wrote in a blog on the “X-Twitter” platform, “Best wishes to the 33 Iraqi companies heading to the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C., next week.”

She added, “The investment process is through linking Iraqi companies with American companies and resources to help them grow their businesses.”

Shafaq.com

The World Bank expects economic growth in Iraq to reach more than 5% in 2026

The World Bank expects that Iraq will achieve economic growth of more than 5% in the year 2026, indicating that the recovery in the oil sector in 2025 will work to enhance growth in Iraq.

The bank said in a report seen by Shafaq News Agency, “Iraq’s economic growth for the year 2022 reached 7.6%, and in 2023 it decreased to – 2.9%.”

He expected Iraq’s economic growth to decline in 2024 to reach 0.3%, to achieve growth in 2025 of up to 3.8%, and to achieve growth in 2026 of up to 5.3%.

The bank’s report indicated that oil-exporting countries outside the Gulf Cooperation Council will help the expected recovery in the oil sector in 2025 boost growth in Iraq and Algeria.

Shafaq.com

The budget is considered “numbers on paper”… revenues for the first 4 months are 15% less than what Iraq expects

Despite the end of the first half of the current year, the Ministry of Finance began distributing estimates of current expenditures, revenues, and investment projects for the year 2024 to the ministries and governorates, in a late measure that came mainly due to the delay in approving the budget schedules, which did not take place until the second of this June by the House of Representatives.

Delay in schedules and spending plans, often making the numbers contained in the budget mere numbers on paper, not similar to the imposed reality, while Al-Sumaria News takes a look at the size of actual expenditures and revenues, not those planned in the budget, for the first four months of this year compared to what is in the budget.

#Revenues are 15% less than planned

The 2024 budget tables indicate that the estimated revenues for the year 2024 amount to 147.8 trillion dinars, which means that Iraq during the current year must achieve this amount, at a monthly average of 12.3 trillion dinars, divided into 10 trillion dinars oil revenues, and 2.2 trillion dinars. Non-oil revenues, bringing the total revenues for 4 months to more than 49 trillion dinars.

However, the reality shows that Iraq’s revenues during 4 months amounted to only 42 trillion dinars, meaning that the revenues achieved are 15% less than what Iraq plans in the budget.

Oil revenues amounted to a monthly average of 9.5 trillion, instead of the 10 trillion per month that was planned, and non-oil revenues amounted to 1.1 trillion instead of the 2.2 trillion dinars planned in the budget, and while it can be said that after June, that is, after the approval of the schedules, it is possible that the rate of non-oil revenues will rise. Oil revenues due to the imposition of new fees, but it is not expected to double from 1 to 2 trillion per month as the budget plans, and even if non-oil revenues increase, oil revenues cannot rise according to government measures, especially since oil prices are volatile and close in the first months. Of the year.

#Expenses are 45% less than planned

As for expenditures, the budget estimates them at 212 trillion dinars, meaning Iraq must spend 17.6 trillion dinars monthly, and within 4 months Iraq must spend 70.6 trillion dinars. However, the truth is that what Iraq spent during the first four months of the current year amounted to More than 37 trillion dinars only, meaning that Iraq spent only 52% of the planned spending.

However, it is expected that the pace of spending will increase after the schedules are approved, as spending is among the government decisions that it can take, unlike oil revenues, and if spending increases, the risk will increase, as the percentage of spending increases and reality approaches the plan, with a decline in the percentage of revenues achieved. Far from its planned size, it will increase the deficit that was not covered by the budget, that is, it can be described as a “sudden deficit” that was not planned for or loans or debts were not allocated to pay it, as happened with the deficit that was originally in the budget and how to address it is planned.

Burathanews.com

The latest from the Swiss banks.. Sudanese advisor: The recovered funds were deposited in the Central Bank

The Prime Minister’s Advisor for Oversight and Integrity, Muayyad Al-Saadi, confirmed today, Friday, that Iraq’s recovered funds were deposited in the Central Bank, pointing out the existence of a comprehensive plan to combat corruption and recover smuggled funds.

Al-Saadi said, according to the official agency, that “Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani paid great attention and daily follow-up to anti-corruption measures, and worked in different directions,” noting that “teams were formed to receive news and reports about corruption, follow up on them, uncover them, and refer them to the Integrity and Public Prosecution Commission for the purpose of holding them accountable.” Violators will be prosecuted and the money will be recovered.”

He continued, “Among the trends that have been focused on is the periodic evaluation through semi-annual and annual reports through the regulatory agencies that follow up on the procedures of ministries and governorates in the field of combating corruption on a daily basis, as well as the issue of digital transformation and the procedures of the unified storage system for the purpose of controlling, following up and knowing funds.” Balances and their movement,” noting that “all of these measures serve to combat corruption.”

Faceiraq.org