Monday Evening Iraq Economic News Highlights 7-3-23

A Government Source Denies The Validity Of Sudani's Appeal Against Articles Of The Budget Law

Policy  |Baghdad today – Baghdad  Today, Monday, an informed government source denied that Prime Minister Muhammad Shia'a al-Sudani had challenged the budget law in the Federal Court.  The source stated in an interview with "Baghdad Today", that "it is not valid for the Prime Minister to appeal 12 articles of the tripartite budget law at the Federal Court."

An informed source announced earlier today that the Prime Minister had submitted an appeal to the Federal Court with 12 articles of the Financial Budget Law.

It is noteworthy that the Iraqi parliament ended, on the twelfth of last June, voting on all articles of the financial budget for the three years: 2023, 2024 and 2025, after a debate and deep differences between the political parties.  LINK

The Government Challenges A Number Of Paragraphs Of The Budget Law And Requests The Issuance Of A "State Order"

Policy  |Baghdad today - Baghdad   Today, Monday, a government source revealed that the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia'a al-Sudani, had submitted an appeal against some paragraphs of the general budget, while calling for the issuance of a state order.

The source told "Baghdad Today", "The Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia' al-Sudani, submitted an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court against a number of paragraphs of the budget law."

And he pointed out that "he asked the court to issue a (state order) to stop the implementation of these articles after the law entered into force until the court decides to challenge its constitutionality." 

Earlier, the House of Representatives approved the draft federal budget law for the fiscal years 2023-2024-2025.

 The value of the current year budget is 197 trillion and 828 billion dinars (about 152.2 billion dollars), with a total deficit of 63 trillion dinars (48.3 billion dollars).

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani confirmed, earlier, that "the government will work to review the items that have been amended in the budget and study the extent of their conformity with the government's vision and objectives approved in the ministerial curriculum approved by Parliament."  LINK

The Budget And Its Reflection On The Economic Conditions Of Kurdistan.. An Expert Explains

Economy  |Baghdad today - Baghdad   Today, Monday, economic expert Khaled Haidar said that approving the budget and Kurdistan's share in it will revive the conditions of the region in general.

Haider told "Baghdad Today" that "Kurdistan has experienced difficult economic conditions and a great stagnation in the markets as a result of the crisis that previously occurred between the federal government and the regional government, and the lack of agreement on the budget law."

He added that "fixing the region's share for three years will revive the region's markets, especially since the employee will receive his salary regularly without deduction, and therefore his salary will be spent on buying basic needs and what is more will be spent on luxury needs."

He pointed out that "in the past, the employee was afraid to buy luxuries, due to fears that salaries would not be paid on time," adding, "But after the approval of the budget law, the employee will practice purchases with complete comfort, which will revive the market movement and end the stagnation that has lasted for years." .

And that "this issue will be reflected in unemployment and reduce its rates, as it will return thousands of workers who have lost job opportunities, as a result of the recession in the markets, and it will also revive the local factories and factories that were closed due to the recession."

 Earlier, the House of Representatives approved the public financial budget law for the years 2023, 2024 and 2025, while the Presidency of the Republic ratified it, and it was published in the official newspaper to enter into force.    LINK

Al-Sudanese Challenges The Articles Of The Budget And Demands A "State Order" From The Federal Court

Shafaq News/ On Monday, the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia'a Al-Sudani, submitted an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court against a number of paragraphs of the General Budget Law.

A government source told Shafaq News agency, “Al-Sudani submitted an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court with a number of paragraphs of the budget law, with a request from the court to issue a (state order) to stop the implementation of these articles.” after the law entered into force, until the court decides to challenge the constitutionality of those articles."   LINK

Parliamentary Integrity Indicates "Heavy" Corruption Files In The Contracts Of Former Ministers

Information/Baghdad..  The Parliamentary Integrity Committee revealed, on Monday, the formation of sub-committees to carefully consider corruption files, stressing that there is a heavy legacy of these files within the previous decades.

The head of the committee, Ziyad Al-Janabi, said in an interview with Al-Maalouma agency that "all corruption files will be subject to the supervision of members of the Integrity Committee, and the details of those files will be revealed at a later time." time.”

He added that "many corruption files have been marked and referred to the competent authorities," pointing out that "there is high coordination between the Integrity Committee and government institutions in this regard."

Al-Janabi pointed out to "dividing the tasks of the committee members into sub-committees to follow up on energy, services and economic files," stressing that "there are heavy indicators of corruption within the contracts that belonged to the previous ministries' contracts." , as well as administrative corruption."

Last month, the Iraqi Integrity Commission announced the issuance of arrest and recruitment orders against 52 high-ranking officials, and while it indicated that 127 judgments were issued against those convicted of corruption cases, it confirmed the recovery of about $42 million to the state treasury from two corruption deals, one of which was in the Federal Ministry of Trade.   LINK

Iran: Iraq Paid 10 Billion Dollars In Gas Export Dues

International  2023-07-03 | 204 views  Alsumaria News - International,  the head of the Iranian-Iraqi Chamber of Commerce, Yahya Al-Ishaq, said today, Monday, that Iraq has paid $10 billion in Iran's gas export dues, stressing that this amount has been handed over to the Commercial Bank of Iraq, where these funds can be used in non-sanctioned cases such as purchases. Commodities and medicines.

According to the  Iranian Tasnim Agency, Yahya Al-Ishaq said today at a meeting of the Iraqi-Iranian Chamber of Commerce: There is a golden opportunity to be present in the Iraqi market. The requirements of the two countries make the opportunity for commercial relations strategic and necessary for the two countries.

He added: There is a potential to increase trade between the two countries to 20 billion dollars in the next few years.

He explained: At the present time, trade relations between the two countries have exceeded the limits of 10 billion dollars, and this figure is expected to reach 10 to 11 billion dollars next year. Achieving this figure could be even without considering the export of gas, electricity, and technical and engineering services.

He pointed out that "the security situation in Iraq has improved, and although the population of this country is less than the population of Iran, it has twice the oil income of our country and is not considered a poor country.” He added: In the next ten to fifteen years,Iraqwill be the best country for investment  in the region and has a comparative advantage for us.

He stated that ““Iraqintends to invest 300 billion dollars in his country this year and next,” noting that 85% of this amount must be funded from abroad, and ifIranuses 10% of it, then this is a special opportunity.

He said: Investors can form joint unions to invest in Iraq, and joint unions can be formed between the economic actors Iran, Iraq, and even a third country.

And Al-Ishaq continued: There is no objection to the private sector receiving its money from Iraq. Our demands from Iraq are mainly related to government institutions and demands for gas and electricity. He announced that Iran's request from Iraq amounts to about $10 billion," and said: "

This number is constantly increasing and decreasing. "

He added: It was agreed that these funds will be used for non-sanctionable issues such as basic commodities and medicines.

Last week, the Iranian deputy oil minister for gas affairs said that the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity had paid Iran all gas-related debts.

"The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity  has paid all our dues for gas, and the debt is now zero, but sometimes problems occur in transferring money from the Iraqi TBI Bank to Iran," Majid Chengy said.

In his statements, the Iranian official did not mention the amount of frozen funds in Iraqi banks.

For his part, Ahmed Musa, spokesman for the  Iraqi Ministry of Electricity, confirmed, on Monday, that his country had paid Iranian gas dues to Tehran and deposited them in the Trade Bank ofIraq.

He said, "The  Ministry of Electricity  has paid all dues owed byIraqtoIran, which are dues for importing gas from it.”  He added, “The dues were paid at Iraqi Trade Bank  In the credit fund, but the bank finds it difficult to transfer it to the Iranian government because of the US sanctions. LINK