Iraqi News and Highlights Monday AM 7-13-20

TLM 724 Administrator BondLady’s Corner

The Issue (4591) Was Issued From The Al-Waqa'iq Al-Iraqi Newspaper Issued On 13/7/2020

2020-07-13 12:16:00

1- Republic Decree No. (23) of 2020.

2- Resolution No. (27) for the year 2020 issued by the Committee to Freeze Terrorist Funds.

3- Data No. (2) and (5) for the year 2020 issued by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities.

Those who wish to acquire the preparation of the Iraqi facts can refer to the Iraqi facts department located in Salhiya / Haifa Street (Ministry of Justice building), and obtain the required number.

https://www.moj.gov.iq/view.5057/

German Efforts To Remove Iraq From The List Of High-Risk Countries

Monday 13 July 2020  98 Baghdad / conscious   Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein called on Germany to exercise its political and economic weight to prevent interference in Iraq's internal affairs, in return, his German counterpart Haikou Maas pledged to work to remove Iraq from the list of countries dangerous.

A statement of the Foreign Ministry received a copy of "Al-Sabah" that "the Foreign Minister received a phone call from his German counterpart Haikou Maas, and they discussed bilateral relations between the two countries, and the prospects for upgrading them to meet the aspirations of the two friendly peoples." Hussein affirmed his “keenness to enhance bilateral cooperation with Berlin in various fields, expressing his aspiration for the relations between Iraq and Europe to witness a development that contributes to achieving the aspirations of the two sides,” calling for “intensifying efforts to remove the name of Iraq from the list of high-risk countries in money laundering And financing terrorism. ”

He added that «the doors of the Iraqi market are open to German companies, because of their long history of working in Iraq, pointing out that« the ministry will work to communicate with the relevant authorities and ministries to address what is being exposed to Siemens Difficulties ».

The Foreign Minister called on «Germany to use its political and economic weight with regional states to prevent interference in internal affairs of Iraq», pointing out that «the new foreign policy of Iraq depends on the equivalence of finding balanced relations with all neighboring countries based on the principle of good neighborliness, achieving common interests, and solving The problems are by peaceful means, and the distance of Iraq and its people from international and regional tensions.

For his part, the German Foreign Minister indicated that he would preside over the Federation's ministerial meeting next week, and that efforts would be made to address the issue of removing the name of Iraq from the list of high-risk countries at the request of Iraq. In Iraq.   LINK

Blackshart To "Al-Sabah": We Support The Efforts Of The Al-Kazemi Government To Impose Sovereignty

Monday 13 July 2020 140  Baghdad / Hazem Muhammad Habib  The Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Iraq, Jenin Henness Blackshart, confirmed the continued support of the International Organization of the Iraqi government in its efforts to combat the Corona pandemic, and working closely with the Ministry of Health to provide all means of assistance in the framework of cordoning off the epidemic, as the representative welcomed the Iraqi-American dialogue and any dialogue

Another contributes to the stability and prosperity of Iraq and its sovereignty in the long term, stressing that the United Nations supports the efforts of the government of Mustafa Al-Kazemi to impose sovereignty, and called Balsakhart in a private dialogue held with her «Al-Sabah» to continue working for transparent elections «rebuilding the confidence of the Iraqi public»

stressing the need for the Independent High Electoral Commission to be protected from political interference. "Despite the great limited capacity and resources, the government's response to the pandemic was swift," she said, praising the "effort led by the national authorities."

Regarding the Iraqi-American dialogue, Blashart asserted that “the United Nations in Iraq, in line with its mandate, supports the sovereignty of Iraq, and we support the efforts of the government of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi in this regard, especially its fight against terrorism.” She said: “We welcome this Iraqi-American dialogue. And any other dialogue that contributes to the long-term stability, prosperity and sovereignty of Iraq.

She added that "our call to avoid Iraq from competing interests between regional and global rivals is not new, as we reiterate it on every occasion. Iraq deserves an opportunity to recover after years of conflict and instability."

Regarding early elections and the possibility of them being held, Blashardt explained that "organizing elections takes time, and it is important to feel the urgency of this issue, and there is a lot of work that needs to be done to conduct elections, including the completion of the technical annexes to the election law, and it is important that this be done correctly" , Stressing that "transparent elections are necessary to build public confidence."  LINK

Internal Borrowing In The Second Half Of 2020 

Monday 13 July 2020  62  Baghdad / Mustafa al-Hashemi   A number of specialists in economic affairs demanded the Ministry of Finance to announce its plan for internal borrowing, as it was publishing it through its website, for the remainder of the current year, in order to achieve transparency and reduce the gap in the temporary deficit in the budget.

According to the Public Debt Law, which authorized the Ministry of Finance to issue treasury transfers guaranteed by the government, the central bank, as a financial agent of the ministry, manages government treasury transfers auctions on behalf of the ministry that, in accordance with the determinants of the annual budget law, issues treasury transfers for government financing purposes .

Treasury bonds

"The importance of the Finance Ministry announcing its plan to launch treasury bonds in an auction organized by the Central Bank, for the purpose of withdrawing liquidity from outside the banking sector and re-employing those funds to benefit from them in reducing the temporary gap gap, especially in light of these conditions," economic researcher Firas Amer explained.

"The ministry has been publishing its plan with the results of auctions, the amounts sold and the amounts realized, but in recent years the Ministry of Finance has not published the plan and the results of auctions, specifically since 2018," Amer said.

According to the plan for the issuance of transfer bonds for the year 2017, the total issuance amounts amounted to two trillion dinars from internal borrowing by issuing treasury transfers through auctions, including the establishment of 11 auctions, two of which amounted to 100 billion dinars and the remaining nine worth 200 billion dinars, and achieved an amount exceeding one trillion and 220 billion dinars timely".

The size of the responsibility

For his part, the economic academic, Dr. Majid Al-Baidhani, called on the Ministry of Finance to pay attention to the issue, which is appropriate for the size of responsibility in achieving transparency in relation to managing and using the funds in a way that enables Iraq to overcome the financial crisis.

"It is not clear to everyone what the crisis of the Corona outbreak has hit the Iraqi economy, which coincided with the decline in oil prices globally, which calls for taking the correct measures and measures to succeed in managing the financial crisis, including announcing the annual internal borrowing plan," he added.

In turn, economic researcher Lubna Al-Shammari sees "the necessity of withdrawing liquidity from outside the banking sector and using it to bridge the budget deficit by borrowing internally through treasury bonds issued by the Ministry of Finance."

Al-Shammari explained that "treasury transfers aim to reduce the budget deficit by offering bonds in auctions managed and supervised by the central bank in which government agencies and departments participate, such as sponsoring the funds of minors, retirement and the social protection network to enhance their funds and achieve benefits for citizens who benefit from the services of those departments."  LINK

Austerity Is Out Of The Question

Monday 13 July 2020  97 Yasser Al-Metwally   Austerity policy is one of the important means in dealing with the financial crises that countries face .. and often used by totalitarian regimes the economic approach.

Austerity, in its simple sense, squeezes expenditures to a minimum at the level of the state as a whole. And austerity will be applied in the event of inability to control resource management by controlling expenditures, stopping waste, tackling corruption, and enhancing domestic income by protecting production and encouraging exports.

As for societies, the concept of austerity here varies and transforms. From politics to social culture, consumption pressure, rationality and lack of extravagance, especially among the luxury classes, and austerity policy are suitable in countries that enjoy economic, political and security stability, and that is to reward it, i.e. stability with the strategic storage of any country. Its commercial policy is rational and uncontrolled.

To adopt austerity policy in light of the aforementioned contradictions, which initially requires a rational import policy in support of the local product and the provision of the food basket, and then we believe that the Iraqi citizen has a kindness that makes him convinced of government measures when he sees them as fair and successful.Here, the culture of austerity has become a national need that saves us from the unknown future, which God forbid will solve Iraq if the various crises prolong, especially the pandemic.

The deprivation that Iraq was subjected to during the siege period made it reject the term austerity to the extent that it reinforced the culture of irrational consumption and I mean extravagance.

We need a culture of austerity before the government imposes it on us, because the indicators point to the unimaginable consequences and to make hope a light for us in facing this challenge through austerity. During which the economic thinker d. The appearance of Mohamed Saleh to manage the seminar, in the presence of the editor-in-chief, section directors and a group of editors

So it was dr. Mazhar Saleh offers his point of view regarding the strict measures to face the crisis in a timely manner and spoke with his openness and known knowledge, and opened the door for dialogue. He answered me immediately: No, no, we do not need these concepts and they are not suitable for the transformations taking place.

I was not surprised by his harsh response, but I understood the situation, given that the economic approach is supposed to be a free market economy called it what you want.

Now, with the economic approach unclear to this day, the question was re-asked: Do we need austerity? The answer is yes, austerity is possible if it does not improve resource management and improve the performance of institutions.

https://alsabaah.iq/27630/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B4%D9%81-%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF

Al-Kazemi Directed To Activate All Electricity Projects: Corruption Wasted Billions Of Dollars And The Crisis Was Not Addressed

Time: 7/13/2020 16:13:34 Read: 1,586 times  {Baghdad: Al Furat News} The Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, directed the activation of all electricity projects, especially the agreement concluded with the German company Siemens, this came during a meeting held today, Monday, with the ministers of electricity and oil, devoted to addressing the current electricity crisis.

Al-Kazemi said, according to a statement of his office, that the fratnews agency received a copy of it that "the electricity file is one of the most important challenges facing the work of the current government, noting that the past periods witnessed spending billions of dollars on this sector, it was sufficient to build modern electrical networks, but corruption and financial waste And mismanagement prevented the handling of the electric power crisis in Iraq, so that the suffering of citizens, which is exacerbated in the summer months, will continue.

Al-Kazemi indicated that the previous ministry had not undertaken projects related to electricity maintenance, which has exacerbated the problem of electricity, especially in this economic and financial circumstance that Iraq is experiencing due to the collapse of oil prices globally as a result of the effects of the Corona pandemic.

He explained that the government is determined to address this file through the implementation of plans to develop production sectors, as well as standing at the joints that stand in the way of advancing the reality of electricity, and blocking all the outlets of corruption in this important vital sector.

The Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Oil to provide fuel for free to owners of private generators, in exchange for lower subscription rates and increased processing hours.   LINK

A "Dangerous Situation" Threatening The Middle East Not Seen In Half A Century

Time: 7/13/2020 15:51:28 Read: 3,913 times  {International: Al Furat News} The International Monetary Fund, in a report, today, Monday, again lowered growth expectations in the Middle East and North Africa to retreat to its lowest levels in 50 years, against the backdrop of the continued repercussions of lower oil prices and the spread of the new Corona virus.

In a report, the Fund warned that the economic crisis in the crisis-stricken region will witness an increase in poverty and unemployment rates, which could fuel social unrest, increase budget deficits and increase public debt.

The fund expects the economies of the Middle East and North Africa to shrink by 5.7 percent this year, down from its April forecast, and the economies of countries in conflict may contract by 13 percent.

According to World Bank data, the forecast is the lowest in more than 50 years, and comes after the region recorded modest growth last year.

Energy-dependent economies in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries are expected to shrink by 7.1 percent, 4.4 percent below previous forecasts in April.

"The region is facing an unprecedented crisis. A double shock has affected the nature of the work of its economies during the quarantine measures," Jihad Azour, director of the Middle East and Central Asia division at the International Monetary Fund, told AFP.

The Middle East countries have implemented some of the most stringent closings and measures associated with trying to prevent the spread of the virus, and have suspended most economic activities.

At the same time, oil prices have lost about two-thirds of their value as the global economy retreated to stop the virus, before recovering partially and amounting to about $ 40 a barrel.

Azour said that oil-exporting countries in the region are expected to lose about 270 billion dollars in energy revenues, "which is a significant decrease."

The IMF report stated that the most affected countries in the region will be those "fragile and in conflict situations", with their economies expected to shrink by as much as 13 percent.

Per capita GDP in these countries is expected to drop from $ 2,900 in 2018-2019 to only $ 2,000 this year.

This retreat "will exacerbate existing economic and humanitarian challenges and raise already high levels of poverty," while "social unrest may re-ignite as closure measures are lifted," the report said.

Azour said that job losses coupled with worsening poverty and inequality could create challenges in maintaining stability for the governments of the region.

The fund said that the large and growing deficit is expected to push public debt levels to 95 percent of GDP among oil importers in the Middle East by the end of the year.

He said that debt levels are expected to increase rapidly in Sudan to 258 percent of gross domestic product, Lebanon to 183 percent, and Egypt more than 90 percent.  LINK

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