Iraqi News Highlights and Points to Ponder Sunday AM 11-19-23
Iraqi News Highlights and Points to Ponder Sunday AM 11-19-23
Al-Sudani Stresses The Importance Of Investing In High Oil Prices To Increase Financial Allocations
Time: 11/19/2023 Read: 572 times {Politics: Al-Furat News} Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani chaired, this Sunday morning, the regular meeting to follow up on the Ministry of Oil and oil projects, and the progress of implementation of the Ministry’s plans prepared to develop the oil sector in Iraq, in the presence of the Minister of Oil, the Ministry’s senior staff, and the Prime Minister’s advisors. For oil and energy affairs.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, a copy of which {Al-Furat News} received, stated, “The meeting witnessed a review of projects in the extraction and distribution sectors, the export axis, gas and refinery projects, completion rates, and the most prominent problems facing the progress of implementation, in addition to discussing the investment opportunities announced by the ministry in 2023.” .
The Prime Minister stressed the need to advance this vital sector, in all its aspects. Because it is linked to the state’s plans and desired development, pointing to the importance of investing in the relative rise in global oil prices, in increasing financial allocations through optimal investment of oil and gas.
He pointed out that oil constitutes the main source of income, and the government is working to develop the oil sector and other sectors related to the chemical, petrochemical, and fertilizer industries, according to what was stated in its government program, as well as developing the electricity sector and working on the integrated energy projects plan program, pointing to the government’s policy of continuing to provide Support at the level of solutions, policies and decisions.
During the meeting, Al-Sudani was briefed on the results of the discussions held between the Ministry of Oil in the Federal Government and the Ministry of Natural Resources in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, in order to complete the procedures for re-exporting crude oil through the Turkish port of Ceyhan. LINK
Does The Fluctuation Of Oil Prices Affect Iraq's Budget? A Government Advisor Responds
Time: 11/19/2023 Read: 442 times {Economic: Al-Furat News} The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Saleh, said that the general financial trend for the year 2023 is “towards the upside” despite the fluctuation in oil prices.
Saleh told {Al-Furat News} agency, "The fluctuation of oil prices between rise and fall and its impact on the budget deficit. We find that this depends on the annual average revenues from a barrel of oil from the same source."
He stated, “The result of this impact on the total revenues of the annual general budget is that price fluctuations will certainly occur that fluctuate between rise and fall, but the general trend in 2023 is towards the rise.”
Three OPEC+ sources told Reuters that the group is scheduled to consider whether to make an additional cut in oil supplies when it meets later this month, after prices fell about 20% since late September.
The price of Brent crude fell to about $80.6 per barrel from the highest level in 2023 recorded in September, near $98. Concerns about demand and a potential surplus next year have put pressure on prices, despite support from OPEC+ cuts and conflict in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia, Russia and other OPEC+ members have already pledged to reduce overall oil production by 5.16 million barrels per day, or about 5% of daily global demand, in a series of steps that began in late 2022. The cut includes 3.66 million barrels per day from OPEC+. In addition to a voluntary reduction from Saudi Arabia and Russia.
On June 12, the House of Representatives approved the largest draft budget law in the country’s history for the current year, with a total amounting to 198 trillion and 910 billion dinars ($153 billion), while the total state revenues under the draft law amounted to 134 trillion and 552.9 billion.
The fiscal deficit amounts within the budget law were estimated at more than 64.36 trillion dinars, at record levels amounting to more than two-thirds of the last deficit witnessed by Iraq’s budget recorded in 2021. Iraq relied heavily,
in its recently approved budget, on oil revenues, which within the law amounted to approximately 117.2 trillion dinars. While the total non-oil revenues amounted to about 17.3 trillion, which means that the Iraqi budget has become hostage to international oil prices, as the price of a barrel of oil was estimated at 70 dollars, and the amount of daily exports is 3.5 million barrels per day, of which 400 thousand barrels per day are from the Kurdistan region of Iraq and are suspended. Since last March due to a dispute with Turkey. Raghad Dahham LINK
Iraq's Accession To The European Bank Revives Hopes For Reconstruction
The first 11/19/2023 Baghdad: Hoda Al-Azzawi Experts and specialists expressed their hope that Iraq’s accession to membership in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will revive the wheel of reconstruction and revive many of the large projects that the current government has begun to implement.
The US administration welcomed the Iraqi step, and stated in a comment on the matter that “Iraq’s joining the European Bank allows its companies to access loans that contribute to improving products and services and enhancing communication with the world.”
The director of the Regional Center for Studies, Ali Al-Sahib, said in an interview with Al-Sabah: “With persistent government efforts, Iraq has joined the European Bank, which contributes greatly to the reconstruction and revival of many large and giant projects that the Sudanese government has begun to implement.”
He pointed out that "Iraq can benefit from external financial and political support, because Iraq - unfortunately - lived an era of time away from the wheel of construction and development, and therefore today it needs a working paper presented by the Ministry of Planning in cooperation with the ministries and institutions concerned with the matter," demanding that the state have The Iraqi “Reconstruction Council” is “similar to that council during the royal era, which brought to light a huge number of projects that are still ongoing.”
He added, "We need to restore the destroyed infrastructure, which we may be able to restore in cooperation with the European Bank. We cannot fail to mention that the labor force must be local to employ the largest number of Iraqis, not to mention the engineering and architectural expertise in this aspect. We must also put in place steps." On the path to sustainable development and development.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced earlier that Iraq had joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the ministry’s spokesman, Ahmed Al-Sahhaf, said in a statement, “Iraq has joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to become the 74th member of the bank.”
He added, "The transformation process has now been completed to become a contributing member, and as a shareholder, Iraq can apply to benefit from the financial and political support provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development."
The President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Odile Renaud Basso, welcomed Iraq as a member of the bank, expressing her aspiration to begin work in Iraq and “apply our expertise to develop its economy.”
Meanwhile, the academic researcher, Dr. Qasim Balshan Al-Tamimi, indicated in an interview with “Al-Sabah” that “Iraq’s accession to membership in the European Bank is a step in the right direction to build and support the economy.”
He stated that "the European Bank has been helping to develop the economies of developing countries since its founding in 1991, and investment is an important tool to help build market economies.
From this standpoint comes the importance of Iraq joining it, given that Iraq represents a broad arena and a good environment for investment in various fields and sectors, and it can Iraq's accession to this bank will help promote the development renaissance in the country, and this will provide great job opportunities, in addition to making Iraq a destination for giant European companies, thus supporting the Iraqi economy and moving away from the grip of the mono-economy that depends on oil.”
Edited by: Muhammad Al-Ansari https://alsabaah.iq/87497-.html
Provoking Points To Ponder From Daily Reflections For Highly effective People By Stephen Covey:
The Seven Habits are not a set of separate or piecemeal psyche-up formulas -- In harmony with the natural laws of growth - they provide an incremental - sequential - highly integrated approach to the development of personal and interpersonal effectiveness -- They move us progressively on a Maturity Continuum from dependence to independence to interdependence -- p48-49
#1 Be Proactive
#2 Begin With The End In Mind
#3 Put First Things First
#4 Think Win/Win
#5 Seek First To Understand Then To Be Understood
#6 Synergize
#7 Sharpen The Saw
Our character - basically - is a composite of our habits -- Because they are consistent - often unconscious patterns - they consistently - daily - express our character and produce our effectiveness ................ or ineffectiveness -- p. 46
It becomes obvious that if we want to make relatively minor changes in our lives -- we can perhaps appropriately focus on our attitudes and behaviors -- But if we want to make significant -- quantum change - we need to work on our basic paradigms -- p. 31
Change -- REAL CHANGE -- comes from the inside out -- It doesn't come from hacking at the leaves of attitude and behavior with quick fix personality ethic techniques -- it comes from striking at the root -- the fabric of our thought - the fundamental - essential paradigms - which give definition to our character and create the lens through which we see the world -- p. 317