Iraq Economic News and Points To Ponder Tuesday Afternoon 6-16-26
G7 Leaders Pledge To Boost Efforts To Tackle The Global Debt Crisis
Arabic and international At their summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, the leaders of the G7 pledged to strengthen international efforts to address the growing risks of global debt that threaten economic stability and limit countries' ability to finance public services.
In a joint statement, the leaders called for increased support for heavily indebted countries, particularly those implementing economic reform programs but struggling to attract investment, while urging international financial institutions to expand their risk-sharing tools.
The statement stressed the need to develop the international financing system to be more efficient and transparent, noting the importance of cooperation with the G20 to ensure an orderly and transparent restructuring of the debts of fragile and middle-income countries.
The G7 leaders also stressed the importance of promoting private investment and blended finance to support long-term development projects, as well as strengthening infrastructure and supply chains, in order to achieve sustainable economic growth. https://www.economy-news.net/content.php?id=70338
From "Spending For The Sake Of Spending" To "Spending For Results": Iraq Opens The Door To Financial Reform Through Program And Performance Budgeting.
Reports Economy News – Baghdad The Iraqi government is moving towards a fundamental shift in public finance management by adopting a program and performance budget, a step that is considered one of the most prominent paths of financial and administrative reform, and aims to link government spending to actual results and achievement indicators, instead of being limited to allocating funds and monitoring their disbursement according to the traditional categories adopted for decades.
This trend comes at a time when public finances are facing increasing challenges related to the need to raise spending efficiency, maximize non-oil revenues, and ensure that resources are directed towards priority projects and services, in order to achieve a tangible developmental and economic impact.
In this context, Finance Minister Faleh Al-Sari stressed that the shift towards a program and performance budget is a key priority in the next phase, noting that the ministry is proceeding with the implementation of a reform path based on clear priorities, foremost among them the automation of financial, tax and customs systems.
Al-Sari explained that these measures represent fundamental pillars for simplifying procedures, enhancing non-oil revenues, reducing financial waste, and strengthening oversight, which contributes to building a more efficient and transparent financial management.
He stressed that program and performance budgeting is a strategic step that links government spending to goals and results, and contributes to directing resources towards projects and services that have a direct impact on the lives of citizens, especially in light of the current financial challenges and changes related to energy markets and public revenues.
This approach represents a shift in the philosophy of preparing public budgets, as the program and performance budget differs from the traditional budgets known as "item budgets," which focus on the amount that ministries and government agencies spend on salaries, supplies and projects, while the new budget focuses on the results achieved and the expected returns from public spending.
In this context, the Prime Minister’s Advisor for Economic and Financial Affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Saleh, explained that the government is moving towards adopting a program and performance budget as one of the most prominent paths of financial and administrative reform, with the aim of raising the efficiency of public spending and linking it to the goals and results achieved on the ground.
Saleh told Al-Eqtisad News that this type of budget is based on allocating financial resources according to specific programs and objectives and measurable performance indicators, which allows for evaluating the efficiency of government spending and its contribution to achieving developmental and service goals, as well as enhancing transparency and accountability by measuring achievement levels and monitoring the implementation of government plans.
He added that the selection of projects and programs that receive funding will be based on the government’s priorities and strategic plans, the feasibility of the projects, and their ability to achieve tangible results that reflect on services and economic development, with the adoption of clear performance indicators to monitor implementation and measure completion rates periodically.
Saleh pointed out that adopting a program and performance budget represents a gradual shift from the concept of "spending for the sake of spending" to the concept of "spending for the sake of results," as it assumes that the continuation of funding or the release of financial payments is linked to actual completion rates and project outputs, instead of being satisfied with fixed annual allocations.
He explained that the application of this system in Iraq will not be immediate, but will be done gradually due to its need to build specialized technical capabilities and benefit from international expertise in cooperation with the World Bank and relevant United Nations agencies, noting that the mechanisms for annual financial allocation currently in place will continue during the transitional phase in parallel with the introduction of modern tools for measuring performance, monitoring implementation and linking funding to achievement indicators.
Experts believe that the success of the experiment is not only linked to changing the form of the budget, but also to the ability of government institutions to build monitoring and administrative systems capable of tracking implementation and accurately measuring results, as well as the availability of modern databases and advanced digital systems that support the decision-making process.
In this regard, financial expert Mustafa Akram Hantoush said that adopting a program and performance budget is a necessary shift after decades of working with line-item budgeting, which saw the allocation and spending of huge sums on projects, many of which were not completed.
He explained that the essence of the new budget lies in linking government spending to specific goals and measurable results, by focusing on a limited number of priority projects and sectors and ensuring their completion within clear timeframes, which contributes to reducing financial waste and increasing the efficiency of public resource utilization.
Hantoush added that this approach could provide a more effective basis for implementing major strategic projects, especially in the infrastructure, energy and transportation sectors, such as electricity projects, the Grand Faw Port and the Development Road, which would enhance economic growth opportunities and support efforts to diversify national income sources.
While the government affirms that program and performance budgeting represents a strategic option for reforming public finance management, the success of this transformation will remain contingent on the ability of institutions to move from a culture of traditional spending to a culture of results management, and to link funding to the level of actual achievement, in order to ensure that public resources are directed towards achieving development, improving services, and enhancing the state’s efficiency in managing its financial resources in the coming years. https://www.economy-news.net/content.php?id=70223
Erbil And Baghdad Are Nearing The Activation Of The ASYCUDA Customs System.
Money and Business Economy News – Baghdad Sami Jalal, the legal advisor to the Ministry of Interior in the Kurdistan Region, revealed on Tuesday that a high-level delegation will soon head to Baghdad to finalize the procedures for the agreement to implement the ASYCUDA customs system, in preparation for presenting it to the Iraqi Ministerial Council for Economy for ratification.
Jalal told Al-Ahd News that “a government delegation will visit the capital, Baghdad, tomorrow, Wednesday, on a mission dedicated to the ASYCUDA system,” explaining that the visit includes signing an agreement with the federal government regarding the application of the customs system, before referring it to the Ministerial Council for Economy to complete the procedures for ratification and implementation.
In the same context, a high-level delegation from the regional government is scheduled to arrive in the capital, Baghdad, to discuss a number of important financial and oil-related issues.
According to information obtained by “Al-Ahd News”, the delegation includes the Ministers of Finance and Economy, the Minister of Natural Resources, the Head of the Cabinet Office, the Secretary of the Cabinet, in addition to a representative from the Ministry of Interior, with official negotiations with the relevant authorities in the federal government scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
The talks will focus on three main issues: the implementation of the ASYCUDA system, non-oil revenues and the federal treasury’s share of them, as well as the issue of exporting the region’s oil and the demands of oil companies.
https://www.economy-news.net/content.php?id=70316
Brent Crude Price Falls Below $79 A Barrel
energy Trading data indicated that oil prices fell by 5-6% in the global market, with Brent crude dropping below $79 a barrel for the first time since early March.
August futures for Brent crude fell 5.04% compared to the previous close, reaching $78.97 a barrel.
This marks the first time the benchmark has fallen below $79 since March 3. July futures for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also declined, by 5.78%, to $76.08.
The sharp drop in oil prices (Brent below $79 and WTI below $77) is attributed to the major political breakthrough in the Middle East and expectations of a return to normal oil supplies.
Prices fell by about 5% on Monday, reaching their lowest settlement level since March 4, 2016, after US President Donald Trump announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to end the war with Iran, although the full details of the memorandum have not yet been disclosed. https://www.economy-news.net/content.php?id=70342
Dhi Qar: Inauguration Of The Al-Rifai Treatment Plant Project With A Capacity Of 60,000 Cubic Meters Per Day
Localities The Ministry of Construction, Housing and Municipalities announced on Tuesday the opening of a wastewater treatment plant in Al-Rifai district in Dhi Qar Governorate with a production capacity of 60,000 cubic meters per day, confirming that the project has been handed over to the local government to begin actual operation and serve more than 250,000 people, while revealing the completion rates in other pollution treatment projects in the governorate.
The Director General of the General Directorate of Sewers, Engineer Imad Tawfiq, said: “This project is one of the major strategic projects that has faced several difficulties and challenges since 2012,” indicating that “since 2019 the Directorate has been able to actually begin and address all the technical and legal problems that the project faced throughout the past years, so that it can be completed perfectly and according to the highest technical specifications prepared for it.”
Tawfiq added, "The project, designed to treat heavy sewage, serves vast areas of the district and will officially become operational today." He pointed out that "the responsibility now lies with the local government in Dhi Qar to fully operate and manage the project, as the Ministry of Construction's role is limited to constructing these vital projects, while local governments are responsible for their operation to ensure environmental protection and prevent river pollution.
" He called on the local administration to "provide the necessary technical staff and financial allocations to ensure the station's continued operation after its official handover." https://www.economy-news.net/content.php?id=70343
After A Two-Year Delay, An Additional 400 Megawatts Will Be Supplied To Karbala Next Month.
Localities Karbala Provincial Council member Israa al-Nasrawi announced on Tuesday that a number of "important agreements" had been reached with the Ministry of Electricity regarding strengthening the energy situation in the province and the reasons for the decline in supply there.
Al-Nasrawi stated that "a meeting was held with the Minister of Electricity, Ali Saadi Wahib, in the presence of the Governor of Karbala, Nassif Al-Khattabi, and a number of general managers in the production, transmission and distribution sectors, which addressed files related to the production and transmission sectors."
She indicated that one of the most prominent outcomes of the meeting was "the imminent entry of the Al-Dhafaaf station into service during the coming month of July, after its implementation was delayed for more than two years, which will provide about 400 additional megawatts to the electricity system in Karbala."
She added that "the meeting discussed ways to enhance the electricity system and increase the province's share of energy, especially with the approach of the month of Muharram and the influx of large numbers of visitors to the city."