KTFA:

Samson:  Today .. Sisi's delegation arrives in Baghdad in preparation for the tripartite summit

25th March, 2021

The delegation of the introduction of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi arrives, Thursday, in preparation for the tripartite summit.

The capital, Baghdad, is preparing for the tripartite summit between Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and King Abdullah of Jordan, while the official round of talks between the Iraqi and Jordanian delegations began in the presence of the Egyptian ministerial delegation via the closed television circuit .

The semi-official Al-Sabah newspaper stated, "The delegation of the presenter of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi will leave today, Thursday, for Baghdad in order to prepare for the tripartite summit meeting between Al-Kazemi, Sisi and Abdullah II." Al-Sisi's visit to Iraq is the first, and the summit meeting will deal with the files of the tripartite committee and the findings of the committee meeting during the past months.

In Amman, Minister of Planning Khaled Battal Al-Najm, head of the Iraqi delegation to prepare for the summit between the three countries, affirmed, "The Iraqi government's desire to activate memoranda of understanding on the ground, which has witnessed tangible development and is moving towards positive steps, after it made advanced strides in the fields of trade and industrial exchange."  He pointed out that "the Iraqi side is keen to accelerate the implementation of joint projects aimed at deepening coordination, cooperation and strategic integration between the three sister countries in all vital sectors."

In the Jordanian capital, Amman, the Iraqi delegation discussed joint cooperation to rehabilitate Iraqi priority factories, establish the Iraqi-Jordanian economic city, as well as activate the Arab Bridge Maritime Transport Company. Delegations also discussed memoranda of understanding signed on agricultural cooperation and food security, as well as the fields of pharmaceutical industries. The agricultural pesticides and chemical industries.

The Iraqi delegation called on the technical teams from the Jordanian and Egyptian sides to visit Iraq. To view the specific sites for establishing projects listed in the signed memoranda of understanding. The final record of the round of discussions will be prepared and presented to the leaders of the three countries. In order to reach the final recommendations that will be ratified during the tripartite summit to be held in Baghdad.   LINK

DeepWoodz:  Imo..."The Iraqi government's desire to activate memoranda of understanding on the ground, which has witnessed tangible development and is moving towards positive steps, after it made advanced strides in the fields of trade and industrial exchange."

Here sounds like this weekend is a turning point as I believe this Summit is HUGE. To ACTIVATE means to sign a real CONTRACT....which imo means they have or they are about to have accomplished the prerequisite conditions that were in the MOU’s. 

Couple this with the leak from the HoR about Saturday’s formula amendment and OH BUDDY!

PS....don’t forget Ramadan is just around the corner!!!

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Samson:  The foreign ministers of Jordan and Egypt are in Baghdad on Friday

25th March, 2021
Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shukry, will arrive tomorrow, Friday, in the capital, Baghdad.

An informed source told Shafaq News: The attendance of the Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers in Baghdad, to arrange the atmosphere for the tripartite summit, which will be held next Saturday, in the presence of the King of Jordan and the Egyptian President.

Next Saturday, the capital, Baghdad, will host a tripartite summit that brings together Iraq, Egypt and Jordan, to complete the efforts of these countries seeking to develop relations between them.

A source informed Shafaq News; Earlier in the day; "The tripartite summit will only take one day," without giving further details.

The three countries' dialogues will include joint political, economic and cultural files, as well as the energy, investment and security files for these dialogues, and then move towards implementing what was agreed upon in two previous summits held in Jordan.  LINK

DeepWoodz:  Imo...Got three Kings coming from the Middle East....
Are they bringing gold, frankincense, and myrrh like back in THE DAY?!?!

Notice they have already had two other meetings. This appears to be the celebratory one.

PS.....Egypt and Jordan are two of the countries in the ME basket. Imo

Samson:  Mass demonstrations in central Baghdad block a road leading to the fortified Green Zone

24th March, 2021

Dozens of holders of higher degrees demonstrated today, Wednesday, in the center of the capital, Baghdad.

According to the correspondent of Shafaq News Agency, the demonstration started from the Arab Knight Square, at the intersection of the exhibition, towards the heavily fortified Green Zone 

He added that the demonstrators demanded that they be provided with employment opportunities in the 2021 fiscal budget.

In the meantime, hundreds of contract employees in the Independent High Electoral Commission demonstrated in front of the Green Zone from the side of the two-story bridge to demand confirmation and the inclusion of their dues in the current year budget.  LINK

Bravo13:  The people are starting to rumble. The government needs to get this budget finished and it better be good or I believe there is going to be some serious push back, you can only taunt the people for so long. imo

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Samson:  Anti-corruption felonies issue court decisions against government officials, including a former minister

25th March, 2021
The Federal Integrity Commission announced, on Thursday, that the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court had issued five verdicts in the presence of government officials and an investor, indicating that the rulings included the former Minister of Electricity, the President of the Baghdad Investment Commission, and an accounts manager at the Ministry of Education.

Speaking about the details of the rulings' decisions, the Authority’s Investigation Department stated in a statement that Mawazine News received a copy of, that “the decisions came against the background of cases related to charges of causing a low level of electric energy production, and taking sums in exchange for completing the granting of investment licenses and receiving bribes in exchange for Passing the health insurance contract at the Ministry of Education."

The department continued, "The Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court issued a three-year prison sentence against the Director of Budget Accounts at the Ministry of Education, pointing out that the ruling came on the background of taking sums of money in exchange for passing a health insurance contract between the ministry and one of the companies, while the same court issued a ruling.

Imprisonment of an investor for a period of two years on charges of mediating money for an official in the Baghdad Investment Commission, in return for entering him in an investment project and for pushing the official to breach his job duties.

She pointed out, "The court issued a judgment in the presence of the former Minister of Electricity in the case of the low level of electric energy production through the stoppage of some of the turbine units belonging to the Rumaila Ghazia station, and two other court rulings ordering the release of the head of the Baghdad Investment Commission in the two cases of breach of job duties. It is suspected that he took 4% of the money from a residential investment project.”  LINK

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Samson:  A security force launched a nightly campaign of arrests of Iraqi officials

25th March, 2021

On Wednesday, a security force raided the homes of relatives of the governor of Babylon and other officials, hours after the issuance of an arrest warrant for the governor of Babylon, for the reason for tampering with the record of land distribution.

A security source told Shafaq News Agency, that the security force raided this evening the house of the son of the governor of Babylon, according to an arrest warrant, but it did not find him.

 He added that the force also raided the house of the director of the municipality of Hilla and arrested him, and the campaign included the home of the brother of the municipality director / property manager, who was also arrested.

The Investigation Department of the Integrity Authority stated in a statement received by Shafaq News, that the Hilla investigation court, which is competent to hear cases of integrity, issued an arrest warrant against the former governor of Babylon against the background of tampering with the report approved by the governorate office regarding the plots allocated to the slice of martyrs, political prisoners and the wounded.  LINK

Samson:  Audio recordings prove the involvement of a "son" of a minister in the Al-Kazemi government in "embezzlement and bribes"

25th March, 2021

A government source said, on Thursday, that the son of a minister of the Al-Kazemi government was involved in corruption.

The source informed Shafaq News Agency; Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi received a copy of the audio recordings of the son of a minister in his government proving his involvement in bribery and embezzlement, in agreement with the general directors of the ministry led by his father.

Source added; That the minister's son was working in a sensitive security apparatus before he was transferred to work in the minister's office (his father).

At the end of August 2020, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi formed a permanent committee to investigate corruption cases and operations headed by Lieutenant General Ahmed Abu Ragheef, after he assigned the Counter-Terrorism Service to implement the decisions issued by the committee.  LINK

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Samson:  Russia declares support for Iraq regarding economic reform steps

25th March, 2021

Minister of Finance, Ali Allawi, confirmed, on Thursday, the Iraqi government's desire to expand the horizons of joint cooperation with various countries of the world, while the Russian ambassador, Maxim Maximov, indicated his country's full support for economic reform steps in Iraq.

The media office of the Ministry of Finance stated in a statement that Mawazine News received a copy of, that "Minister of Finance Ali Abdul Amir Allawi received, today, Thursday, in his office the ambassador of the Russian Federation in Iraq, Maxim Maximov and his accompanying delegation," indicating that "during the meeting, relations were discussed. "Bilateral relations between the two countries in the economic and financial fields and means of enhancing them in a manner consistent with the size of the historical relationship between Iraq and Russia."

He continued, "The possibility of the contribution of leading Russian companies in the development of various economic sectors in Iraq was discussed."

Allawi stressed "the Iraqi government's desire to expand the horizons of joint cooperation with various countries of the world." On the one hand, the Russian ambassador affirmed his country's "full support for the reform steps taken by the government in overcoming economic obstacles, advancing construction and achieving comprehensive development towards a free and pluralistic economy."  LINK**