More Late Night "Monday Iraq News" from KTFA Members 2-1-2021

KTFA:

Samson:  Saleh Al-Hajraf: A secure, sovereign Iraq represents a foundation for enhancing the security and stability of the region

02/01/2021 13:15:37

The President of the Republic, Barham Salih, said today, Monday, during his meeting with the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf, that a secure and sovereign Iraq with solid relations with its Arab depth and its Islamic neighborhood is a basis for enhancing security, stability and development in the region.

The media office of the Prime Minister said in a statement that Al Furat News received a copy of it, that "the latter received the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf, at the Peace Palace in Baghdad, and during the meeting, relations between Iraq and the Gulf Cooperation Council were discussed, and it was emphasized.

The importance of developing it in all fields in a way that serves the common interests of peoples and enhances opportunities for progress, construction and peace. The steps taken between Iraq and the GCC countries were also commended in signing memoranda of understanding and agreements in the field of economy and investment in order to strengthen the fraternal common relations.

The president welcomed "the success of the recent Gulf summit meeting, the signing of the Al-Ula statement and the achievement of Gulf reconciliation," noting that "this would enhance the march of the Gulf Cooperation Council and its vital role, and its positive impact on security and stability throughout the region."

Saleh added that "the challenges the region is going through, especially terrorism and the economic situation, constitute common challenges that call for coordinating efforts to address the threat of terrorism and confront economic crises by enhancing opportunities for development and economic prosperity," pointing out that "a secure, sovereign Iraq has strong relations with its Arab depth. And its Islamic neighborhood is a foundation for strengthening security, stability and development in the region.

For his part, Nayef Al-Hajraf extended his thanks and appreciation to the President of the Republic, stressing "the commitment of the Gulf Cooperation Council to support the security and safety of Iraq and its full sovereignty and its support to confront terrorism."  LINK

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Samson:  13 months without salaries" .. Medical personnel demonstrate in Diyala to demand their rights

1st February, 2021

Dozens of nursing staff, dentists and pharmacists demonstrated in Diyala to demand payment of their wages that were overdue for 13 months.

Shafaq News Agency correspondent said that the health and medical personnel organized a demonstration today in front of the Diyala governorate building to demand payment of their wages in arrears for 13 months, similar to their peers in other governorates.

The protesters were quoted as saying that they have started their jobs since January 2020 and have not received any salaries yet despite the existence of an official administrative order to disbursement, and they called for resolving routine and administrative problems and releasing their salaries as soon as possible.

The demonstrators also threatened to strike permanently in the event that their demands were not met and all the problems and obstacles that caused the release of their salaries between the Ministry of Health, the governorate administration and the Diyala Health Department were not met.  LINK

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Don961:  Ports announces contracting with a global company to control corruption

07:09 2021/02/01 Baghdad today - Baghdad

The General Company for Ports of Iraq announced its contract with one of the international security companies to improve the aspects of combating corruption operations and to preserve the customs campus from abuse operations in an effort to raise revenues to the desired level.   

It is noteworthy that Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi launched a campaign to protect the ports in Basra Governorate last year by military forces within the framework of the strategy (combating corruption at border crossings). Transcendental, and instructed to reduce complicated red tape, and to rotate staff to reduce corruption.

The director of the General Company for Iraqi Ports, Farhan Muhaisen Al-Fartousi, revealed to Al-Sabah that "a contract with a specialized international security company works to manage ports, improve the security aspect, and control any operations around which suspicions of corruption are hovering."  

He stressed that "the next two months will witness the completion of security preparedness to protect the ports, and the authorities charged with this will fully practice their work."  LINK

Don961:  The World Bank determines the size of its financial portfolio in Iraq and unveils a global initiative to recover smuggled funds

Posted 9 hours ago Baghdad Today - Baghdad

Today, Sunday, the World Bank confirmed that changing the exchange rate gives the state the ability to increase its revenues and confront import from abroad, and while noting that its financial portfolio in Iraq currently amounts to two billion dollars, it revealed a global initiative that the World Bank is working on to recover money smuggled from countries

The Special Representative of the World Bank Mission in Iraq, Ramzi Numan, said in an interview with the Iraqi News Agency (INA), which followed it (Baghdad Today), that “the partnership relationship between the World Bank and Iraq is very close and is based on years of joint work, pointing out that“ Iraq has a position It is very important at the Arab and global level, and that the World Bank was next to Iraq in the various stages of stability and peace, or in the stages that it was subjected to attacks or changing economic conditions, which led to difficult repercussions on the Iraqi government and people, and actual work began with Iraq, I think in the two years 2006 And 2007 through a group of projects

He added that "the World Bank's portfolio in Iraq currently amounts to two billion dollars and that these loans were signed about two or three years ago," noting that "the main pillar in it is a loan to reconstruct the liberated areas and the result of the request came after the beginning of the first phase of liberation, i.e. the liberation of Salah Governorate." The debt was then supplemented with an additional amount after the liberation of the rest of the provinces

And that "this current portfolio in Iraq includes projects under implementation and projects or loans due and that the World Bank is working to implement projects associated with them."

And he indicated that "the World Bank has teams working on the issue of cultural heritage and has a simple project in Mosul that may start soon," noting that "the World Bank was at one stage looking to reconstruct Mosul, and I personally when the issue was raised I was continuing to develop a comprehensive plan for the reconstruction of the city." My view was crystallized in that a city like Mosul is a global heritage, so why does Iraq not present an ideal reconstruction project as an international competition to which the most important companies and universities will be nominated in setting a general plan for its reconstruction, even if it is in the long term

Loan size

Numan explained that “the World Bank’s loans are aimed at a large reconstruction project, accompanied by a project in the liberated areas that targets the social sector,” indicating that “the World Bank has allocated 400 million dollars for reconstruction projects, divided between two projects, the first with 150 million countries and the other with 250 million dollars. , The World Bank also has a project with the Baghdad Municipality for water and sanitation, amounting to nearly 200 million dollars, and a project in the electricity sector in Basra Governorate, with 200 million dollars

He continued, “The World Bank has a social and economic project that works on all of Iraq, and it is heading to local communities called“ The Social Fund for Development ”with a value of $ 300 million. Al-Bashir also goes to economic reform projects

He explained that "the World Bank seeks to put the project that is being proposed in a long strategic framework with a specific vision that opens up opportunities for future employment and investment spaces, pointing out that" the World Bank aspires to convert any project into a larger block and that taking advantage of this opportunity is the responsibility of the government"

exchange rate

He pointed out that "changing the exchange rate aims to give the state the ability to increase its revenues, especially since the sale of petroleum in hard currency and converting it into the reality of the Iraqi dinar gives it a financial mass that allows it to actually increase revenues and reduce the deficit," noting that "changing the exchange rate may allow import from "Because the domestic product becomes cheaper than what is imported from neighboring countries"

He explained that "the strategic goal of changing the exchange rate is to work to strengthen the local product and local industries to be able to face the external product, reinforced by measures to protect the product"

He stressed "the need to address the increase in prices and the seriousness of inflation and focus on projects that actually allow facing the social distress of the poor"

He continued that "the idea of ​​raising the price of the dollar is an international policy that the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning, and the Iraqi government have participated in, especially the International Monetary Fund," explaining that "Iraq is now in the plight of financial deficit, it has nothing but borrowing either internally or externally," indicating that “Internal borrowing threatens the reserves of the central bank, just as using it to fill the deficit removes the possibility of investing in productive opportunities that allow the development of the private sector, while external borrowing has its components and conditions that are based on debt sustainability, subsequent repayment capabilities and financial and monetary stability.

This is a financial engineering that must be looked at in an integrated manner. Among them can be considered to reduce the currency rate   LINK