More Iraqi News Sunday PM 8-23-20

More Iraqi News Sunday PM 8-23-20

TLM724 Administrator BondLady’s Corner

The low exchange rate of the dollar in the local markets

Market  Economy News_ Baghdad  The exchange rate of the dollar decreased in the main stock markets, while it stabilized in local markets today, Sunday (August 23, 2020). The Kifah Stock Exchange recorded 122,850 dinars against 100 US dollars, while the prices of the Kifah Stock Exchange yesterday, Saturday, were 123,000 dinars.

Selling prices in the exchange shops in the local markets in Baghdad:

Sales price: 123,500 dinars per $ 100.   Purchase price: 122,500 dinars per $ 100.

Number of observations 59, date of addendum 23/08/2020   https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=21558

Al-Saadi: Iraq Is Surrounded By A Fire Belt

Chairman of the Iraqi Business Council in Jordan Majid Al-Saadi.  Money and business  Economy News – Baghdad  The head of the Iraqi Business Council in Jordan, Majed Al-Saadi, confirmed, on Sunday, that Iraq is surrounded by a fire belt represented by its sensitivity to the sensitivity of the geopolitical factors surrounding it.

Al-Saadi said, in a press statement followed by Al-Eqtisad News, that "Iraq is surrounded by a fire belt, resulting from the influence of neighboring countries on it, as well as internal problems accumulated for 17 years, which is a heavy legacy for Mustafa Al-Kazemi's government regarding the file of the Iraqi economy."

He added, we presented many economic proposals to the previous Iraqi governments, but the latter did not interact with them because they were preoccupied with "the quota system and the sharing of positions."

Al-Saadi explained that the interest in restoring the security system is an urgent necessity to rebuild the Iraqi economy, pointing out that Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi raised the issue of rebuilding the security system with US President Donald Trump.

He stated, that in light of the dangerous repercussions of the Corona virus on the global economy, the low oil prices and the inability of Iraq to finance new projects, the solution lies in the Iraqi and foreign private sector, which will only return through the giant oil companies.

Number of observations 146 Date of addendum 08/23/2020  https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=21560

Baghdad Proposes Investment Projects In Favor Of Ankara In Exchange For A Permanent Water Agreement Between The Two Countries

Reports  Economy News – Baghdad  The Ministry of Water Resources revealed the dates for the pronouncement of the lawsuit filed by the Iraqi government in international courts against Turkey and related to a number of files, stressing that Iraq will win this case soon.

With the beginning of the negotiation round with the Turkish side, which began more than ten days ago, Mustafa Al-Kazemi's government prepared negotiation papers related to technical, economic and political files to be used in the upcoming rounds and negotiations with the Turkish and Iranian sides to pressure them to sign agreements to determine Iraq's water share.

In the context of this, the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources described the first negotiation round with the Turkish side to solve the problem of water scarcity in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as "fruitful and positive", indicating that it had proposed to the Turks to grant their companies the implementation of eight giant projects in Iraq.

In the same context, the ministry accused the Iranian side of being "not cooperating" with it to solve the problem of water scarcity, noting that "the Iranian side is taking advantage of the confusing political situation in Iraq to implement special water-related projects to revive its economy."

"Al-Mada" newspaper quoted the director of the National Center in the Ministry of Water Resources, Hatem Hamid Hussein, as saying that "the first negotiation round, which was inaugurated by Minister of Water Resources, Mahdi Rashid Al-Hamdani, for the technical meeting between Iraq and the Turkish side, which took place through the closed circuit television, focused on finding common outcomes." The water crisis, "adding that" the first meeting lasted for eight continuous hours. "

On the twelfth of this August, the Ministry of Water Resources announced the start of the first negotiating round of joint bilateral technical meetings between the Iraqi and Turkish sides, in the presence of a government and parliamentary delegation, while the Turkish side was headed by Murad Dag Daviran, Deputy Head of the State Water Affairs Corporation in Turkey with a number of specialists from The Turkish Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry and Foreign Affairs.

The first negotiating round focused in its discussions on four main axes, according to Hussein, the joint technical member in these meetings, indicating that “the first main axis discussed the plan to operate the Ilisu Dam in the coming period, and the second was a proposal to establish a joint research center (Turkish-Iraqi), which would be based in Baghdad.

And a branch of it is in Basra, while the third axis concerns the projects proposed by Iraq to the Turkish government, and their contribution through Turkish companies to implement them, and the fourth concerns the exchange of data and the reactivation of the joint stations committees between the two parties.

The relations between Iraq and Turkey have been strained during the last period, due to the Ankara project to build the Ilisu Dam to meet its electricity needs, and this greatly affected the flow of water to Iraq, where the average flow measurements, from the border with Turkey in northern Iraq, were 50% less this year. Compared to previous years.

Hussein described the initial meeting of the Iraqi and Turkish sides as "positive," adding that "the technical committees (Iraqi and Turkish) have reached agreements to resolve all these differences, but they need approvals from the higher authorities of their countries to approve these results."

The government official says that "the Turkish government filled the tanks of the Ilisu Dam on the first of June of 2020, and started operating it to generate electricity," considering that the Ilisu Dam is harmless to Iraq because whenever it generates electric power it releases water towards Iraq.

He points out that "the problem is in the Ilisu dam with the projects attached to it, as there are projects at the front of the dam that draw water to the agricultural land, and there are projects at the back of the dam that also withdraw a large portion of the water towards agricultural lands, which affects the releases of the Tigris River," noting that " Some of these projects are still under implementation and the other part has not been implemented until this moment. "

The Ilisu Dam is one of the largest dams built on the Tigris River, and it is located in southeastern Turkey and close to the Iraqi border, as it is 65 km away from it. If it is completely filled with water, about 20.93 billion cubic meters, it is a hydroelectric project on the Tigris River.

The official in the Ministry of Water Resources confirms that "the completion rate of the dam has reached 35%, but we are concerned that if it is finally completed by the Turkish government, it will affect the water revenues of the Tigris River by up to 50% of its current revenues."

He states that "our ongoing negotiations with the Turks currently focus on reducing their ambitious plans to complete all dam projects, and we are working to ensure that the implementation of projects is at the forefront, and at the back of the dam, not exceeding 60%," explaining, "The Turkish negotiating team showed flexibility in the first round, but the topic It depends on the technical, political and economic plans that will be taken into consideration in the coming meetings. "

The Ilisu dam, which the Turkish government decided to build in the 1990s, in order to generate electricity, caused the deportation of about 80,000 people from 199 Turkish villages.

Since 2017, water shortages in Iraq have led to measures such as banning the cultivation of rice and pushing farmers to abandon their lands, and Basra has witnessed months-long protests over the lack of safe drinking water.

The government official points out that "the second paragraph of the meeting discussed the Turkish proposal to establish a research center to exchange experiences between the two countries, conduct joint research and solve outstanding problems between the two sides," noting that "the Turkish side offered the services of 300 advisors to work in this research center."

As for the third axis of the meeting, which revolved around the Iraqi government’s proposal to refer a number of projects to the Ministry of Water Resources to Turkish companies, the Director of the National Center for Water Resources explains that “this proposal comes to stimulate the Turkish side to solve all problems and disagreements.”

To that "among these (eight) projects proposed to be implemented are the Makhoul Dam in Salah al-Din Governorate, the rehabilitation and development of the Al-Amara irrigation project to reform agricultural lands estimated at 300,000 dunams, and the diversion and development of the Bada'a canal into a tube channel to transport drinking water from the Al-Gharraf River to the Basra Governorate." .

Hussein pointed out that "the fourth axis focused on exchanging water data, including operating plans, hydrogen information, and meteorology between the two sides," considering that "this information is important for Iraq to draw up its operational plans."

And stresses that "the purpose of these negotiations is to reach the approval of a permanent agreement with Turkey to determine our water quotas."

He reveals that "the current government has prepared negotiation papers (technical, economic, political and social) that they will use in the upcoming negotiations with the Turkish and Iranian sides to reach a permanent agreement that guarantees Iraq's share of water," stressing that "Iraq will win a global lawsuit filed against the Turkish side."

As for Iran, it has built dams on the rivers and tributaries entering Iraq, and it did not end there. Rather, Tehran has diverted some of it (rivers and tributaries) within its territory, as happened with the Karun River, the main feeder of the Shatt al-Arab.

Hatem Hamid, Director of the National Center at the Ministry of Water Resources, explains that "our negotiation rounds with the Turkish side are many, but with the Iranian side there is very little communication," explaining that "the Iranian side is not cooperating with us in many files."

He added that "the meetings between the Iraqi and Iranian sides are limited to the bilateral committee in charge of demarcating the Taluk line in the Shatt al-Arab, which has not been able to resolve the differences even though it has met more than ten times," noting that "the Iranians do not want to recognize Iraq's rights in the Shatt al-Arab."

He explains that "the result of the changes that took place after cutting the waters of the Karun-Karkha rivers from the Iranian side had an impact on the borders established by the Algiers Agreement, whereby the Taluk line changed and moved towards Iraqi lands," noting that "Iran began to demand part of our territorial waters in these negotiations."

The Ministry of Water Resources had said that reducing the flow of the Sirwan and Zab rivers from the Iranian side causes great harm to Iraq, indicating that the decrease occurred in the Sirwan River at the front of the Darbandikhan Dam and the Lower Zab River at the front of the Dokan Dam is a violation, and it will cause great damage to Iraq, especially on the river. Diyala, on which Diyala governorate depends entirely, as well as for the Dokan Dam on which the Kirkuk irrigation project depends, in addition to the fact that the water stored in the Dokan Dam contributes to the Tigris River as well.

Hamid adds that "the Iranian side is taking advantage of the confusing political situation in Iraq to implement their own water-related projects to revive their economy."

Number of observations 388 Date of addendum 08/23/2020  https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=21559

Parliamentary Finance Clarifies The Timings For Preparing And Submitting Budgets

Money  and business  Economy News _ Baghdad  Member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Jamal Cougar, explained the timetables for preparing and submitting budgets according to the law, pointing out that the budget must be placed on the parliament table before October 15.

Cougar said in a press interview seen by "Al-Eqtisad News", "There are timings for submitting the budget according to the Financial Management Law, as estimates should be prepared and submitted for 3 years in the month of March while the Ministries of Finance and Planning, according to Article V of the Financial Management Law, provide their estimates." For the budget in the month of June ”.

He added that "the budgets of the provinces and regions should be prepared in July, to be submitted to the Ministries of Finance and Planning, while the two ministries are supposed to send during the month of September two drafts to the Economic Affairs Committee in the Council of Ministers that include submitting the draft budget and submitting the financial policy document for three years."

And that "the first year the government is bound by the budget that was prepared, while the budget for the following two years is not compulsory," noting that "the government is supposed to send the budget before October 15 to Parliament."  Number of observations 99 Date added   https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=21556

Bahr Al-Ulum: The OPEC + Agreement Will Cost Iraq 50 Billion Dollars

Energy  Economy News – Baghdad  Former Oil Minister Ibrahim Bahr Al-Ulum estimated Iraq's losses as a result of its agreement to reduce its oil exports for two years, according to the (OPEC Plus) conference by 50 billion dollars, expressing his hope that the current government and the Oil Ministry will intensify their diplomatic efforts to cancel this reduction.

Bahr Al-Ulum said in a statement reported by the official Al-Sabah newspaper and seen by Al-Iktissad News, that "OPEC countries benefited from the absence of Iraq from the oil scene for 30 years because of the war. During that period, Iraq was unable to reach the production levels set for it in The organization, which deprived it of quantities of up to 17 billion barrels of its available production capacity, was compensated by the main OPEC countries represented in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries, which invested this by expanding their production capacities and creating surplus energy to be used when needed and developing the oil and petrochemical industries. My economy is much better than Iraq. "

He added, "Iraq has been deprived of keeping pace with developments in those countries, and it is lagging in the field of oil production and the oil industry for decades, and the actual launch took place in 2016, as its production became covering its prescribed quota in OPEC, which prompted the countries of the organization to subject it again to the quota system at the conference." Algeria".

He praised the role of "the former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi, who managed the negotiations at the time and succeeded in making the reduction by only 200 thousand barrels, which were deducted from the oil produced by the national effort and not from the oil produced through licensing rounds."

Bahr Al-Ulum pointed out that "the recent reduction of (OPEC Plus) was unfair for Iraq, as it caused billions of dollars in material losses over two years, which is the period determined for the reduction, and that commitment to it will make Iraq’s position in front of the licensing rounds companies very weak, given that the companies have them.

Plans to increase production and Iraq will be like forcing them to reduce production from the fields working to invest them, and this may require negotiations, especially since companies, according to contracts, have specific production capacity, if they produce or not produce, they take profits for every barrel, which leads to the establishment of the Iraqi government Paying $ 30 million a month to companies. "

The former Minister of Oil stated that "oil production, if reduced by a rate of one million barrels per day, will negatively affect the production of associated gas that is invested as liquid gas or dry gas, as the latter is transferred to operating electrical stations, which will contribute to the possibility of increasing the volume of its import, despite the demand to stop this." Imports. "

He pointed out that "the reduction and when it was accepted by the previous Iraqi government, it sentenced to death the oil investments in Iraq for a period of two years, and therefore it would not allow him to be an effective and strong member of the organization with production and export capacity."

Bahr Al-Ulum stressed the need for the Iraqi oil sector to follow two paths: the first is the licensing rounds, and the second is the national effort, which the opportunity is supposed to be available for its development and advancement, and on this basis the idea of ​​establishing the national oil company came to take this aspect and develop it, and in conclusion, according to this Preliminary data, the loss of Iraq is not less than fifty billion dollars over the next two years, as a result of the full commitment to reduce OPEC. "

Bahr Al-Ulum revealed that the Saudi Energy Minister, head of the OPEC Oil Reduction Control Committee, called the current oil minister, and warned him that last month Iraq did not abide by the second reduction and there was a shortfall of 450,000 barrels, and therefore it must be reduced this month and be added to the reduction.

The decision amounting to 850 thousand barrels, then Iraq must commit to 850 thousand barrels per day, in addition to 450 thousand barrels, meaning that it must reduce one million and 300 thousand barrels this month, which means that Iraq will lose one billion and 400 million dollars, "at a time when it is Desperately needed any additional amount to provide the salaries, "as Bahr Al-Ulum puts it. Number of observations 219, date of addendum https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=21555

Al-Rafidain Confirms The Continuation Of Paying Employees' Salaries For The Month Of August

Banks  Economy News – Baghdad  Al-Rafidain Bank announced, on Sunday, that it will continue to distribute the salaries of a number of ministries and state institutions for the month of August through electronic payment tools.

"The salaries of employees of some ministries and state institutions have been distributed from those whose salaries have been settled with the bank and from holders of the electronic Master Card," the bank’s media office said in a statement seen by "Al-Eqtisad News".

The statement added, "Paying salaries will be in accordance with specific contexts and dates after the arrival of financing and strengthening the financial balance of each department to the bank."

Number of observations 135 Date of addendum 08/23/2020  https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=21562

Source: The American Forces Withdraw From The Taji Base Today, And This Is Their Destination

Time: 08/23/2020 08:39:21 Read: 4,953 times  (Baghdad: Al Furat News) An informed source revealed that the US forces will hand over the Taji base in the north of the capital Baghdad to the Iraqi forces on Sunday.

This comes in conjunction with the visit of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi to Washington, in which he discussed the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, among other topics.

The source pointed out in a press statement that, "Today, after those years have passed with their twists and turns, the joint operations of the coalition forces, especially the US, will take over their position at Taji base, which is considered the most important for these forces," likely "to head to Al-Baghdadi bases in Anbar and Al-Harir in Erbil."

The withdrawal process is supervised by the joint command responsible for coordinating with the coalition forces, which makes its role after the withdrawal confined to training and information exchange.

And what remains of these retreating forces will return to the countries from which they came, without being stationed or redeployed to any base in Iraq. According to the source.

Going back to the date of July 15, 2014, that is, since the arrival of the international coalition forces, we find that these forces have focused their role in eliminating ISIS and participated in the battles to liberate Mosul, Anbar and Salah al-Din.

After defeating ISIS in 2017, tasks were transformed into training, arming and providing intelligence information to Iraqi forces, in addition to direct military support through sorties to pursue ISIS sleeper cells and neutralize them with strikes.

As for the most prominent bases in which it was located, Taji, north of Baghdad, Baghdad airport base, Balad base in Salah al-Din, Habbaniyah base in Anbar, Ain al-Assad base in Anbar, K1 base in Kirkuk and al-Harir in Erbil.  LINK

International Coalition: The Forces In Taji Have Returned To Their Homes, And This Is Our Role Now

Editing date: 08/23/2020 16:52 • 28 times read  [Baghdad-Where] A spokesman for the International Coalition, Miles Kickens, confirmed, on Sunday, that the forces that withdrew from the Taji base north of Baghdad have returned to their homes, while revealing the coalition’s role now in Iraq.

Kickens said in a television interview, "The forces at Taji base have returned to their homes and the international coalition is assessing the situation now periodically, especially after the Iraqi forces have become more qualified."

He added, "The international coalition is currently in Iraq to provide advisory information, and it is now working in fewer sites in Iraq."   http://www.alliraqnews.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=98686

Governor Of Halabja: Storming And Attacking Government Buildings And Party Headquarters Is An Act Of Sabotage

Author: Alialhajj On 23/8/2020 - 4:42 PM 80  The governor of Halabja, Azad Tawfiq, described the attacking and storming of government buildings and party headquarters today, Sunday, as an act of sabotage and a far cry from the goals of the demonstrators.

Tawfiq said in a statement during his meeting with his deputy, the mayor and a number of officials in the governorate today, that such demonstrations witnessed in the governorate are far from all civil norms, stressing that the governorate will take the necessary legal measures regarding what happened yesterday, and that the transgression of the government and its departments and institutions does not fall within The framework of the demonstrations, not one of the people's demands as well.

The governor also called on the demonstrators to protest in a civil and civilized manner and to move away from private and subversive targets, stressing that providing financial benefits to the people is a natural achievement for citizens and the government must provide it.

A group of protesters set fire to government buildings on Saturday night and attacked party headquarters in Halabja governorate.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister of Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, condemned the burning of government buildings, public and private properties in Halabja province, considering these acts to be considered as crimes. LINK

https://i.servimg.com/u/f84/17/45/42/20/zz1428.jpg

Demonstrations In The Kurdistan Region And The Metro Condemn All Kinds Of Violence That Were Practiced Against The Demonstrators  

The director of the municipalities in Halabja governorate in the Kurdistan Region of Kurdistan, Akram, said that a number of demonstrators attacked the municipality headquarters in the province and burned two important parts of it.

Akram confirmed, "many citizens' transactions and six computers were burned, in addition to causing great damage to the municipal building in Halabja."

As for the official of the 12th branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Halabja, he said in a press conference, "The demonstrators fired at the party headquarters from four sides."

Kurdish media in the region reported that clashes and clashes occurred between demonstrators and security forces last night in Kalar and Erbil, and a number of members of the new generation were arrested in Dohuk.

And the Erbil Police Directorate announced in a statement, "The deputy of the New Generation Bloc in the Parliament of Kurdistan, Kawa Abdul Qadir, was rescued from citizen attacks on him, after he urged them to organize demonstrations."

As for the Metro Center for Defending the Rights of Journalists, "condemned all kinds of violence that were practiced against the demonstrators in recent days," calling on "Kurdistan Parliament to summon the Minister of Interior and question him."

The center said in a statement, "Demonstration is a legal right, and it is organized according to the law. Demonstrations should not be prevented, contrary to the law on the right to demonstrate, and no person has the right to force citizens to demonstrate, or prevent citizens from participating in demonstrations, and the security services represented by the police must provide protection for the demonstrators,

but Before the eyes of the presidency of the parliament, members of parliament, and the relevant authorities responsible for organizing the demonstrations, which is the Ministry of the Interior, and with all this, Parliament did not take any position against the violations of human rights that the demonstrators were subjected to, and the parliament members forgot or forgot their oversight role to implement the law.

He stressed, "The events of the past few days have confirmed beyond any doubt that the laws issued by Parliament do not protect citizens, so that these attacks and violations began even before the start of the demonstrations, and during the citizen demonstrations they became an accusation against every demonstrator and he was arrested, and the demonstrators were dealt with with a purpose. Violence, strength and cruelty. "

"The Metro Center condemns the various types of violence that were used against the demonstrators in the past few days, and calls on the Presidency of Parliament to bring in the Minister of Interior and question him about it," he said. https://www.radionawa.com/all-detail.aspx?jimare=21663

The Iraqi Parliament Intends To Question Senior Officials About Corruption Files

Political   Sunday 23 August 2020 | 03:35 pm| Views: 99   On Sunday, a member of the Parliamentary Services Committee, Manar Abdul Muttalib, announced her direct committee’s intention to open all files during the coming period and host senior officials regarding corruption files .

She said that her committee has files and interrogations that will affect senior officials, in addition to hosting a number of officials to discuss the low level of services in the country, adding that “the coming period will witness the opening of new files to find out the problems of services that the Iraqi governorates suffer from despite the frequent visits to all Iraqi provinces.

Without exception, ”and pointed out that“ her committee has set a schedule in which priority is given to the governorates that witness demonstrations. ”  

https://aynaliraqnews.com/index.php?aa=news&id22=137710

Parliamentary Services Intend To Question Senior Officials About Corruption Files

Sunday, 23 August 2020 4:04 PM   Classification: Iraqi   Baghdad / National News Center - Member of the Parliamentary Services Committee, Manar Abdul Muttalib, revealed today, Sunday, the intention of its direct committee to open all files during the coming period and host senior officials regarding corruption files.

Abdul-Muttalib said that "her committee has files and interrogations that will affect senior officials in addition to hosting a number of officials to discuss the low level of services in the country." For these governorates without exception, "noting that" the Services Committee has set a table in which the priority for the governorates that witness demonstrations. "     https://nnciraq.com/39727/

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