Iraqi News Highlights and Points to Ponder Wednesday AM 11-15-23

Diversifying The Foreign Currency Commodity In Iraq..Does It Increase The Value Of The Dinar?

November 14, 2023  Baghdad/Al-Masala Al-Hadath: The Finance Committee in the House of Representatives said, on Monday, that there is a necessary and important need to diversify the basket of foreign currencies in Iraq and not depend on the US dollar. Diversifying the basket of foreign currencies also helps enhance trade with other countries that use these currencies. It also contributes to increasing the attractiveness of foreign investments.

Members of the committee believe that “the basket of foreign currencies in Iraq must be diversified and not relied on the dollar in commercial transactions, whether external or even internal, as this reduces American dominance over the Iraqi economy.”

The committee considers that the Iraqi economic environment is ready and prepared to strengthen banks in various foreign currencies and not be limited to the US dollar.

The committee expects that the coming days will witness various commercial transactions through the UAE dirham, as well as the Chinese yuan and other currencies, and this will reduce the demand for the dollar, and will have an impact on reducing the dollar exchange rate in the parallel market.”

The currencies that could be useful to Iraq are the euro, as it is the second most widely used currency in the world, and it is a relatively stable currency, in addition to the Japanese yen, as a relatively stable currency, which is a basic currency in many financial markets, as well as the Chinese yuan, which is a rising currency, and a basic currency in Many emerging markets, in addition to the UAE dirham and the Saudi riyal, which is a basic currency in the Gulf region.  https://almasalah.com/archives/72960

America Extends Iraq's Exemption From Sanctions Imposed On Iran

Energy    Economy News _ Baghdad  The United States of America announced that it had extended for four months the exemption period granted to Iraq from sanctions related to dealing with Iran, allowing Baghdad to continue importing energy from the Islamic Republic.

A senior US State Department official told reporters, requesting that his name not be published, that "this measure will allow Iraq to use its own funds to pay the costs of importing electricity from Iran, which will be placed in Iranian accounts restricted in Iraq."

He added, "Iran will not be able to use this money except for humanitarian needs."

Due to the sanctions imposed by the United States on the Islamic Republic, Baghdad cannot directly pay Tehran for its imports of Iranian gas.

The senior American official explained that the total debt owed to Tehran by Baghdad in exchange for previous Iraqi imports of Iranian gas amounts to about 10 billion dollars.

To force Baghdad to pay its unpaid debts, Tehran regularly suspends its gas supplies to Iraq, which desperately needs these imports to operate electricity production plants.

Iranian gas supplies cover a third of the needs of electricity production plants in Iraq.

The exception also stipulates that a portion of Iranian gas funds be transferred to Oman.

This is the 21st time that Washington has extended this exception to the sanctions since 2018.

Although Iraq is an oil country, it relies heavily on Iran in the field of energy, as it imports a third of its consumption needs of gas and electricity from it due to its dilapidated infrastructure, which makes it unable to achieve self-sufficiency to meet the needs of its population of 40 million people.

Iraq currently produces 16,000 megawatts of electricity, which is much less than its estimated need of 24,000 megawatts, reaching 30,000 in the summer, while its population may double by 2050, which means an increase in its energy consumption, according to the United Nations.

The previous US administration, under President Donald Trump, withdrew from the nuclear agreement concluded with Iran and at the end of 2018 reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Because of these sanctions, many countries and international companies refrain from dealing with the Iranian government or even with Iranian companies for fear of being affected by the sanctions.

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Despite The US Extension Decision.. Will Iraq’s Import Of Iranian Gas Be Affected By Regional Conflicts?

Economy |  Baghdad today – Baghdad  The Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee confirmed today, Wednesday (November 15, 2023), that Iraq will remain far from the conflict of the axes and will not be affected by the local and regional crises regarding its import of gas from Iran.

Committee member MP Ali Saadoun told Baghdad Al-Youm, “Iraq depends entirely on the operation of its electrical stations on importing gas from Iran, and there is no possibility to stop it because of its significant impact on equipping citizens with electrical energy.”

He added, "Iraq always tries to distance itself from any regional and international disputes and works to establish balanced relations with everyone. It refuses to enter into the policy of axes, and that is why it has a good and good relationship with Iran, as well as with the United States of America and the rest of the world, and it is working to take Approvals regarding the payment of money to Iran for importing gas, and this pace will continue until Iraq reaches gas investment and reaches self-sufficiency locally.”

The administration of US President Joe Biden decided to extend Iraq's exemption from sanctions requiring it not to deal with Iran for a period of four months, which allows Baghdad to continue purchasing electricity and gas from Tehran.

US officials said that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken signed a 120-day extension of the waiver and it was referred to Congress.

Blinken signed the waiver mainly because the administration did not want to cut off Iraq from a vital source of energy, the officials said.

They indicated that the administration is confident that Iran will not be able to use any of these funds for war purposes, stressing that there is a strict examination process to ensure that the use of funds is limited to food, medicines, medical equipment, and agricultural goods.

The exemption would extend billions of dollars in sanctions relief and allow Iraq to transfer frozen electricity payments to Iranian-owned bank accounts in Europe and Oman.  LINK

After The "Oil Giant" Left Qurna... Will America Turn Its Back On Iraq Because Of The Gaza War?

Politics |   Baghdad today – Baghdad   Today, Tuesday (November 14, 2023), the Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee considered that Iraq is an important economic partner for the United States of America and will not be distracted from it due to the Gaza war.

Committee member Ali Al-Mashkour told “Baghdad Today” that “the United States of America considers Iraq an important ally on the economic and investment levels, and it pays great attention to this file,” considering that “Washington cannot leave Baghdad because of any preoccupation it has with any file.” External, whether the Gaza war or elsewhere.”

This came in conjunction with the Ministry of Oil signing a settlement agreement with the American energy giant ExxonMobil to put the final touches on its exit from the West Qurna 1 oil field.

In this regard, Al-Mashkoor stated that “work in the Iraqi oil sector is not limited to any foreign company, American, Chinese, Russian or other. Iraq deals with this file according to its interests and according to the offers made to it by those companies, and it has nothing to do with the issue of disputes between large countries".

According to the recent agreement, the Chinese company "PetroGina" will own the largest share in the West Qurna 1 field after the departure of the American "ExxonMobil", which owned a 22.7% stake in the giant West Qurna 1 oil field in Iraq, which has a capacity of 550 thousand barrels per day. According to the Ministry of Oil.   LINK

Provoking Points To Ponder From Daily Reflections For Highly effective People By Stephen Covey:

If we want to change a situation, we first have to change ourselves -- And to change ourselves effectively - we first have to change our perceptions  -- p18

Albert Einstein observed - " The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them" -- p42

The way we see the problem - is the problem -- p40

Effective People are not problem-minded -- they're opportunity-minded -- They feed opportunities and starve problems -- p154

Paradigms are powerful because they create the lens through which we see the world -- The power of a paradigm shift is the essential power of quantum change - whether that shift is an instantaneous or a slow and deliberate process -- p32

We must look at the lens through which we see the world - as well as at the world we see - and understand that the lens itself shapes how we interpret the world -- p17

We simply assume that the way we see things is the way they really are or the way they should be - And our attitudes and behaviors grow out of those assumptions -- p24

Each of us has many - many maps in our head - which can be divided into two main categories: maps of the way things are, or realities -- and maps of the way things should be - or values -- We interpret everything we experience through these mental  maps -- p24