Iraqi News Highlights and Points to Ponder Friday AM 12-29-23

The Government Media Team Issues A Warning To Holders Of Electronic Payment Cards

Posted On 12-29-2023 By Sotaliraq  Today, Thursday, the government media team confirmed a trend to use the electronic payment process in all government institutions without exception at the beginning of next year 2024, while issuing a warning to holders of electronic payment cards.

Lt. Gen. spokesman Haider Majeed told the official agency, “Two days ago, the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers issued circulars to official agencies, citizens, and employees who hold Qi, Master, and Visa cards (cards used in the electronic payment process), stressing the necessity and importance of being careful not to trade or use them.” Buy them from unknown and unreliable sites or stores, and also do not hand over these cards to unknown people or hand over their secret numbers in order to protect their money.”

Majeed added, “There is a government trend, early next year, 2024, towards using the electronic payment process in all government institutions without exception, in accordance with the decisions of the Council of Ministers issued and the directives of Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani.”

He stressed, “The main relevant authorities in the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, as well as banks, are working to urge citizens and institutions to automate the electronic payment process in coordination with officially approved electronic payment companies, so that it will be a new cultural phenomenon used for the first time in Iraq in years.”  R.D   LINK

The Dollar Continues To Submit To The Iraqi Dinar.. The Exchange Gap Is Shrinking And The Federal Government Is Defeated Again

Information/Private..   After the stifling crisis that embarrassed the government in light of the high numbers reached by the dollar exchange rates compared to the official price, some attribute the reasons for the recovery of the dinar to the success of the Central Bank’s procedures and its recent steps in providing the currency of some countries to finance the country’s foreign trade.

On the other hand, the decline of the dollar is due to the government’s ability to contain the Federal Reserve’s decisions that contributed to the rise in the exchange rate in the previous period, amid expectations that the decline will continue after the Central Bank translates the recent decisions and measures into reality.

*The Results Of The Procedures

. Speaking about this file, a member of the House of Representatives, Suhaila Al-Sultani, explained the reasons for the decline in the dollar exchange rates after months of rise, while she confirmed that the results of the successful measures and decisions taken by the government and the Central Bank began to be translated into reality.  

Al-Sultani said in an interview with the Maalouma Agency, “The dollar exchange rates will witness a significant decline in local markets compared to the rise that parallel prices reached in the previous period,” noting that “the government’s continued taking the right steps in this file will reduce the gap between the official and parallel rates soon.” ". 

He continues, "The campaign of arrests and prosecution of currency speculators had an effective role in keeping the Iraqi dinar from collapsing," adding that "the Central Bank's decisions work to match the parallel and official dollar exchange rates."   

The member of the House of Representatives added: “Controlling the dollar file, in light of the major violations in this file, will not be instantaneous and will need a period of time in order to impose it on the local markets,” pointing out that “the results of the successful measures and decisions taken by the central bank government have begun to be translated on the ground.” reality". 

* Trade Financing:

For his part, the economic expert, Abdul Rahman Al-Mashhadani, confirms that the central bank’s agreements with some countries to finance foreign trade in the local currency contributed to the decline in the dollar exchange rates, suggesting that the exchange rates will reach 145 thousand compared to 100 US dollars. 

Al-Mashhadani said, in an interview with the Maalouma Agency, that “the agreement with the banks of the Emirates, Turkey, India, and China to finance Iraq’s foreign trade is a step in the right direction,” noting that “proceeding with these measures will reduce the gap between the official and the parallel.” 

He continues, "The measures taken by the government were practical, but the shock of the US Federal Reserve's punishment of banks prevented prices from falling in the previous period," pointing out that "the US sanctions were a painful blow to the local markets." 

He added, "One of the factors why the dollar exchange rates did not decline in the previous period was the intervention of the external factor in the dollar issue," adding that "the central bank's agreements with some countries to finance trade in the local currency contributed to the decline in the dollar exchange rates."

The dollar exchange rates in local markets witnessed a significant decline after months of rise, which created severe economic repercussions for citizens, after the exchange rates at one time reached 169 thousand for every 100 dollars. LINK

The Most Important Economic Events In Iraq For The Year 2023

Posted On 12-28-2023 By Sotaliraq  The year 2023 witnessed economic events in Iraq that greatly affected the markets, especially the rise of the dollar and other fluctuations, in addition to oil, whose revenues constitute 95% of the country’s budget.

Central Bank

January 23, 2023

Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani relieved the Governor of the Central Bank, Mustafa Ghaleb Makhif, and assigned Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq to manage it.

February 11, 2023

The bank agrees with the American “JP Morgan” bank to facilitate payments through the Iraqi banking system to China, with the aim of directly financing private sector imports.

May 30, 2023

The bank announces the purchase of new quantities of gold amounting to 2.3 tons, bringing its total possessions to 132.74 tons, maintaining its 30th place in the world.

29 July 2023

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 14 Iraqi banks as part of a comprehensive campaign against the transfer of US currency from Iraq to Iran and other countries subject to sanctions after revealing information indicating that the 14 banks were involved in money laundering and fraudulent transactions.

5 October 2023

The Central Bank confirmed that the country will ban cash withdrawals and transactions in US dollars starting from January 1, 2024, in order to limit the use of the country’s hard currency reserves for financial crimes and evade US sanctions.

October 2023

[size=45]The Central Bank warns against dealing with entities that are not licensed by it and issue electronic payment cards in order to avoid cases of fraud and financial fraud.

December 12, 2023

The Central Bank of Iraq directed private banks to finance imports of small merchants from Turkey in the euro or Turkish lira, according to an official letter issued by it and appended with the signature of Ammar Hamad Khalaf, deputy governor of the bank.

December 13, 2023

The Central Bank agrees with First Abu Dhabi Bank to finance trade and imports in the UAE dirham currency.

December 14, 2023

The Central Bank agrees with an American delegation to meet the bank’s needs for cash and dollar shipments for the coming year.

Oil

26 March 2023

Baghdad stops crude oil exports from the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk fields after winning an arbitration case against Turkey.

Before stopping it, Iraq was pumping up to 450,000 barrels per day through the pipeline, including 370,000 barrels extracted from regional oil and the remainder from federal government oil.

1 April 2023

Opening of the Karbala oil refinery with a production capacity of 140 thousand barrels per day.

June 18, 2023

Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul-Ghani announced the launch of the sixth licensing round for 11 gas exploration blocks in Najaf, Anbar, and Nineveh governorates.

10 July 2023

Iraq signed a deferred agreement with the French company “Total Energy” with investments amounting to $27 billion through the implementation of four oil and gas projects for renewable energy.

21 July 2023

Signing a memorandum of understanding to supply Lebanon with fuel, oil and gas to meet its needs for oil, fuel and crude oil.

28 September 2023

The Ministry of Oil announces the production of high-quality gasoline “Octane 95” at the Karbala refinery for the first time in Iraq.

29 September 2023

Maysan Oil Company and a coalition of international companies celebrated the launch of the gas investment and processing project in the Halfaya oil field in Maysan Governorate, with a capacity of 300 mqm per day (million standard cubic feet).

6 October 2023

The Minister of Oil signs a memorandum of understanding to supply gas from Turkmenistan to Iraq.

29 October 2023

The Minister of Oil curses the operation of the Baiji refinery with a capacity of 150 thousand barrels per day.

Finance

February 2023

The price of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar rose on the Baghdad Stock Exchange to 170,000 Iraqi dinars against 100 US dollars.

12 March 2023

The Ministry of Finance announces the completion of the preparation of the draft federal budget law for the year 2023 and sending it to the Council of Ministers for the purpose of discussion and voting.

June 6, 2023

The House of Representatives votes on the draft law on the tripartite federal general budget for the fiscal years 2023, 2024, and 2025. The budget included 66 articles, and is considered the largest in the country’s history, as its value amounted to approximately 153 billion dollars for each of the three years.

Agriculture

22 August 2023

The Ministry of Agriculture announced that water scarcity deprived the governorates of Najaf, Diwaniyah, and Muthanna from growing ambergris rice due to the lack of sufficient water.

5 September 2023

The Kurdistan Region exports one thousand tons of potatoes to the United Arab Emirates.

1 October 2023

The Ministries of Water Resources and Agriculture agreed to cultivate 5.5 million dunums for the next winter season 2023-2024.

The Ministry of Water Resources said at the time, in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, that it had discussed with agriculture the winter agricultural plan for the 2023-2024 season. The meeting included a presentation of the water situation in the country in terms of storage in Iraqi dams and meteorological forecasts for the coming period, and it was agreed to approve a plan:

1- Cultivation of 1.5 million dunums depending on surface water.

2- Cultivation of 4 million dunums depending on groundwater.

30 November 2023

The Kurdistan Region announces the export of honey to Qatar for the first time.[/size]

Commerce

August 2023

The Ministry of Commerce begins distributing electronic ration cards to citizens to receive food basket items and flour.

April 2023

The Ministry of Commerce will replace flour in the ration with bread or “samoon” from bakeries and ovens, and it will be optional for citizens, not compulsory. Areas in Baghdad will be chosen to conduct a preliminary experiment in, namely Al-Daoudi, Al-Mansour, and Al-Harithiya.

Iraq Stock Exchange

December 28, 2023

The stock market will trade shares with a financial value of about 700 billion dinars during the year 2023.

Electricity

April 2023

Electricity announces the completion of the electrical connection with Turkey by 100% and promises that consumption fees will be at reasonable prices.

June 11, 2023

Iraq announces the launch of work on an electrical interconnection network with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries with a capacity of 500 megawatts, and the interconnection system is expected to be completed in late 2024.

June 2023

Iraq pays $2.76 billion in Iranian gas dues after obtaining US exemptions from sanctions imposed on Tehran.

30 September 2023

Electricity announces the complete completion of the electrical connection with Jordan, and the project aims to provide Iraq with a capacity of 150 megawatts in the first phase.  LINK

Provoking Points To Ponder on Greatness:

Each honest calling, each walk of life, has its own elite, its own aristocracy based on excellence of performance.  - James Bryant Conant

Only great men may have great faults.  - French proverb

The world knows nothing of its greatest men.  - Henry Taylor

Every age needs men who will redeem the time by living with a vision of things that are to be.  - Adlai Stevenson

Not a day passes over the earth, but men and women of no note do great deeds, speak great words and suffer noble sorrows.  - Charles Reade

Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.  - Daniel J. Boorstin

Do continue to believe that with your feeling and your work you are taking part in the greatest; the more strongly you cultivate in yourself this belief, the more will reality and the world go forth from it.  - Rainer Maria Rilke

It is not the strength, but the duration, of great sentiments that makes great men.  - Friedrich Nietzsche

To do great things is difficult, but to command great things is more difficult.  - Friedrich Nietzsche

Famous Quotes and Authors, Famous Quotations for all Occasions