Iraqi News Highlights Monday Afternoon 4-17-23

Tlm724 Administrator Bondlady’s Corner

Specialists: Financial Discipline Is A Guarantee Of Achieving Surpluses And Increasing Growth

Economical 2023/04/15  Baghdad: The Emad of the Emirate  A number of economists urged the need to follow sound frameworks that can limit economic downturns and unexpected shocks that the general budget may be exposed to, especially with regard to calculating the price of a barrel of oil and the planned deficit, stressing the possibility of achieving these factors through what they described as "Fiscal discipline" that can distance the budget from economic crises and lead to achieving a number of positive factors, including enhancing economic growth, curbing the fiscal deficit and achieving a budget surplus.

Last week, the House of Representatives completed the first reading of the draft federal budget law for the fiscal years (2025, 2024, 2023) submitted by the Finance, Strategic Planning and Federal Service Committees, at a time during which the Presidency of Parliament continues to hold its meetings with the Parliamentary Finance Committee to ripen the law and expedite its presentation for the second reading.,

Where the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, discussed with the Finance Committee "the items of the budget, and provided observations regarding a number of its paragraphs and the importance of making the necessary transfers, in a way that contributes to increasing the allocations for the development of regions, reducing the deficit rate, and implementing service and strategic projects, especially those that are lagging behind."

Dr. Imad Al-Ani, a specialist in economic affairs, believes that

“the financial discipline that can be followed during the implementation of the budget items leads to creating the necessary foundations for creating a stable and predictable economic environment that is far from the risks of global fluctuations.”

It leads to an exacerbation of the deficit, and thus resorting to borrowing, which is reflected in additional costs on the economy that exceed its ability to produce the required surplus and sufficient to face the increasing pace of debt and its servicing.  Al-Ani added, hence, "the

need for financial discipline to curb unstudied bias in the behavior of fiscal policy that leaves costs on the economy, indicating that the

ability and competence of the financial authorities depends on financial discipline as a measure of them and

through it lies the ability to maintain the smooth implementation of financial operations that guarantees Long-term financial safety and prosperity.

Dr. Ikram Abdel Aziz, a member of the administrative body of the Iraqi Economists Association, did not stray far from the previous opinion, as she stated that

“economic stability is the necessary condition for growth, which can be achieved through financial discipline as an incubator for stability, growth, and poverty reduction,” noting the

importance of “designing fiscal policy as part of Among the broader economic reforms and their impact on the behavior of the factors affecting the future, in line with the requirements of transparency and public supervision.

For his part, the specialist in economic affairs, Dr. Muhammad Shehab, explained that the importance of financial discipline lies in promoting long-term growth, as curbing the deficit and achieving a budget surplus is a form of saving, and  with its increase, owned assets increase and future income increases.   https://alsabaah.iq/75265-.html

Taif Sami From Washington: Our Discussions Focused On Enhancing The Capabilities Of The Banking Sector

Economical 2023/04/16  Baghdad: morning   The Iraqi delegation in Washington is holding continuous meetings with a number of international financial and monetary institutions, on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, held from 10 to 16 April.

Finance Minister Taif Sami revealed that discussions have been held on

strengthening the capabilities of the banking sector,

applying automation,

supporting small projects, and

advancing the reality of the private sector.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, which "Al-Sabah" received a copy of,

"Minister Taif Sami held a meeting with the

Executive Director of the World Bank, Mansour Al-Shamali, in the presence of the

Governor of the Central Bank, Ali Al-Alaq, and his accompanying delegation.

The meeting witnessed trading in the economic and financial visions that the Iraqi government is working on.

Achieving them in accordance with the priorities of

sustainable development,

projects,

water,

climate,

environment,

transportation and

social protection.

Sami said, according to the statement,

"they discussed

strengthening the capabilities of the banking sector,

applying automation,

supporting small projects,

advancing the reality of the private sector, and

establishing development funds," while

stressing the Iraqi government's continuation of its national and economic reform efforts. 

She stated that "the fund's representatives expressed the provision of all forms of support necessary for the success of the tasks of the government program in terms of

capacity-building,

training of working cadres, and

technical contributions in a manner appropriate to the establishment of productive sectors that contribute to raising the rates of gross domestic product."    https://alsabaah.iq/75353-.html

Transport Reveals New Information Through Development: High-Speed Trains And European Operating Systems

Reconstruction and building  Economy News-Baghdad  The Ministry of Transport is studying the preparation of designs for the development road, after obtaining the necessary approvals to determine the proposed routes for the road, with its two parts, the

highway, and the railway line for transporting passengers and goods,

from the large port of Faw to the Turkish border, with a length of 1175 km.

And the Ministry of Transport stated in a statement that "the Minister of Transport obtained preliminary approvals to determine the tracks of the project, which tops the ministry's work priorities, as it is one of the strategic projects adopted by the ministerial program." 

He explained, "The railway line starts from the large port of Faw towards the northern regions, with a capacity in the first phase of 3.5 million containers, and 22 million tons of (random) bulk cargo," stressing that "the load will be raised in the second phase to 7.5 million containers." And 33 million tons of cargo. 

The statement indicated that "surveillance cameras will be along the road line, in addition to the presence of rest areas for passengers, and others for loading and unloading."  He added, "The railway line will be one for transporting passengers and another for goods," noting that "a high-speed train with a speed of 300 kilometers per hour will be allocated to transport passengers, with a capacity of 13.8 million passengers annually." 

The statement added, "The second railway line will be dedicated to goods, at a speed ranging from 130 to 140 kilometers per hour, and will run on electricity," explaining that this line "will pass through about nine governorates."  The statement pointed out that "the transportation system that will be used in the project is the European system, with the aim of continuity of the global train movement without stopping, taking into account the issue of millions of visits." 

The statement concluded that "the highway will be (To Wei) with a length of 1190 km, starting from the port of Faw and passing through the desert areas, because it is designated for trucks, and there is no need for it to enter the cities."   https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=33612

Central: Directed To Provide Services In Currencies Such As «Yuan Or Euro»

Economical 2023/04/16  Baghdad: morning  The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Faisal Al-Haimus, stated that the bank has a tendency to expand the network of correspondent banks to provide services in different currencies, indicating that

there is a desire by solid international banks to enter the Iraqi banking sector and work inside the country.

Al-Haimus said that the Central Bank is striving to bridge the gap between the official and parallel rate, and

our supervision continues over all banks, by

increasing confidence in the local market and

cooperating with international institutions.  And he added,

“We noticed a reluctance to enter the electronic platform launched by the Central Bank of Iraq by merchants, and

there were delays due to the recent experience by banks dealing with the bank, and we noticed that

some banks do not carry out the transfer for a long time and arrive at the bank late, and

we check it and ensure the safety of the parties.” Dealing with the window,

we implement it in a record period, and

then release the money.

Al-Haimus also noted that the number of employees of the electronic platform is sufficient in the current situation, and

the number will be increased and the

work will be shifted to morning and evening shifts in the event of an increase in the demand for remittances in the platform.

He pointed out that due to inquiries about money laundering and other issues related to the auditing authority, the period for releasing the electronic platform’s funds to the beneficiary who owns the transfer is prolonged, stressing that the

US Federal Reserve does not work on auditing, but rather the

Central Bank of Iraq is responsible for that through the auditing company contracting with us.

He went on to say that there is a

development in the Iraqi banking sector to achieve the objectives of the feasibility studies and the

expansion of the network of correspondent banks to provide service in different currencies such as the yuan or the euro.

There is also an agreement with banking institutions regarding yuan transfers.

After a short pause, there is also a desire from solid international banks to enter the Iraqi banking sector and work inside the country.

Al-Haimus denied that there is a directive from the bank to limit the withdrawal ($250) per day, saying:

It is the prerogative of the bank issuing the card or the owner of the ATM, and

there is no cash limit if the purchase is through electronic payment devices (POS).

The Iraqi banking official indicated that there is a

great tendency to deal with cards and electronic payment devices (POS), and there is a

big plan to increase the confidence of the beneficiary of these services, and

we confirm the presence of great support from the Iraqi Council of Ministers in many executive decisions, as well as the support by Parliament in this aspect.

He stressed that the Central Bank of Iraq is working to stop networks that issue cards

with forged documents or

to deceased persons, and

use these cards to smuggle currency out of Iraq, which affects the Iraqi economy. https://alsabaah.iq/75354-.html

 

To read more current and reliable Iraqi news please visit BondLady’s Corner:

https://www.bondladyscorner.com/