KTFA:

Clare:  Governmental and private banks will showcase their services tomorrow during Financial Inclusion Week

4/26/2024

Governmental and private banks are preparing to participate tomorrow, Saturday, in Financial Inclusion Week.

The electronic payment systems will review banking services for citizens, including advances and loans, and introduce them to the products offered by these banks in a step to enhance financial inclusion.   LINK

Clare:  Parliament does not know the reason for the delay in sending the 2024 budget schedules: Voting takes time

4/26/2024   Baghdad

The Finance Committee in the Iraqi Parliament confirmed today, Friday (April 26, 2024), that the government was very late in sending the 2024 budget disbursement schedules.

Committee member Jamal Kujar told “Baghdad Today” that “we are very close to entering the middle of the fiscal year, and so far the government has not sent us the 2024 budget spending schedules,” noting that “voting on it requires time by Parliament for the purpose of studying or amending it.”

Koger stated, “We do not know what the reasons were that prompted the government to all this delay in sending the budget schedules, even though it cannot spend any of the amounts, especially for projects and others, until after Parliament votes on those schedules. “

It is noteworthy that the Chairman of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Atwan Al-Atwani, confirmed on Sunday (April 21, 2024) that the House of Representatives is awaiting the arrival of the current year’s budget schedules during this month.

Al-Atwani said in a statement received by Baghdad Today, “The Finance Committee is awaiting the arrival of the 2024 budget schedules during this month, in order to discuss them and approve their allocations.” 

On the other hand, Al-Atwani stressed that “Parliamentary Finance is keen to support and encourage the private sector and provide incentives to attract investment companies.”

Last March, Finance Minister Taif Sami announced that the tables had been completed and sent to the Council of Ministers for the purpose of voting on them, according to an official statement.   LINK

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Clare:  From Dammam to Najaf.. Saudi Arabia announces an increase in flights with Iraq

4/26/2024

Saudi Civil Aviation announced that it will operate direct flights to Iraq, starting next June 1.

The Saudi Civil Aviation said in a statement followed by {Al-Furat News} agency, “Based on the national strategy for the aviation sector in the Kingdom, which aims to double the response capacity and reach more than 330 million passengers annually, and more than 250 destinations in the world, and as an extension of the close relations that...

Connecting the Kingdom with the sister Republic of Iraq, we announce the operation of direct flights from the city of Dammam in the Kingdom to the city of Najaf in the Republic of Iraq, in addition to flights to both the cities of Baghdad and Erbil in the Republic of Iraq, starting on Saturday, June 1, 2024.   LINK

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Clcare: The Association of Private Banks appreciates the efforts of the government and the Central Bank to create understandings with the Treasury, the Federal Bank, and international banks

4/26/2024

The head of the Iraqi Private Banks Association, Wadih Al-Handal, participated in the Arab Economic Security Forum, which was organized by the Union of Arab Banks in Beirut.

Al-Handal said in his speech, “The forum is being held in complex circumstances and geopolitical changes taking place in the region, and the Arab banking sector has begun to be affected, starting with the State of Iraq,” adding that Iraq is still facing major challenges, at various economic levels, including the deprivation of the Iraqi private banking sector.

 From the use of the dollar, which exceeded half the number of banks operating inside the country, which is a very dangerous indicator, despite the efforts of Iraqi government and private institutions to comply with local and international anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws, but for the first time we are witnessing a clear targeting of the sector that has begun to affect banking services inside the country, It undermines citizen confidence and hinders the expansion of financial inclusion.

He added that these challenges facing the banking sector reaffirm the prominent role played by the Union of Arab Banks, international organizations and Arab banks in coordinating positions and confronting dangers together, noting that our meeting is taking place. "It represents an opportunity for cooperation and agreement on a work roadmap for the future, as targeting the Iraqi banking sector will not stop within its borders, and may expand at any moment to other countries in light of the regional turmoil."

Al-Handal pointed out that “the Association of Private Banks is working with the Iraqi government, the Central Bank, and some local and international institutions, to save the banking sector, and return banks deprived of dealing in dollars to their activities, but this is not enough, but rather requires continuing cooperation with the Arab and foreign banking sector, because the stage of merging... The Iraqi banking sector with its Arab counterpart must begin quickly, and we are taking great strides in this direction, especially since Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani held dialogues in Washington with the American President and other government officials, who announced in a joint statement the possibility of a group of Iraqi banks returning to dealing. in dollars and support the private banking sector.”

Al-Handal appreciated the efforts of the Iraqi government and the Central Bank of Iraq to create deeper understandings with international banks, the Federal Reserve, and the US Treasury to expand the integration of the Iraqi banking sector into the global financial system, in addition to supporting the Iraqi dinar, which led to a gradual rise in its value.

He pointed out that Iraq is witnessing great development in the transition to electronic government and the adoption of electronic payment, and this is what leads to the growth of the digital economy, especially since there is a trend within the country to increase the number of electronic banks, to keep pace with technological development and increase performance.LINK

Clare: With the participation of the Association of Private Banks, investment opportunities are on the table of a Jordanian-Iraqi economic forum next May

4/26/2024  Baghdad

The activities of the Economic Forum for Financial, Industrial and Commercial Partnerships between Iraq, Jordan and the region will begin on the fifth of next May, organized by the Iraqi Business Council in Amman, amid great official interest and broad participation from the public and private sectors in the two countries and countries in the region.

 According to a statement by the Council, the ministers of industry and electricity from Iraq will participate in the forum, which is organized by the Council in cooperation with the Jordanian and Amman Chambers of Industry, and will be opened at the King Hussein Convention Center in the Dead Sea region, along with ministers from Jordan, business owners, investors, and Arab and foreign companies.

Participating in the forum are also the National Investment Authority in Iraq, the Arab Businessmen Union, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group, the Association of Information and Communications Technology Companies (Intaj), the Association of Iraqi Private Banks, the Jordanian Banks Association, and the Jordanian Corporation for Economic Enterprise Development. (JEDCO), and the Jordanian free and development zones.

 The Council organizes the two-day forum, which includes an exhibition for companies and bilateral meetings with decision-makers from the two countries, on the occasion of the Kingdom’s celebrations of the silver jubilee of His Majesty King Abdullah II assuming his constitutional powers.

 The forum's working sessions focus on the most prominent investment opportunities in Jordan and Iraq, the prospects for commercial and industrial opportunities in the two countries, the vision of economic modernization, investment in Iraq, investment opportunities in the region, in addition to investment opportunities in the Jordanian free and development zones.

 The sessions also focus on the role of the banking sector in providing financial facilities to the industrial, energy, mining, transportation and infrastructure sectors, the role of international institutions in providing financial financing for investment projects, and presenting success stories of Jordanian and Iraqi investment companies.

The Forum seeks to enhance regional integration by building economic interconnection, enhancing cooperation in various sectors, building long-term partnerships, creating sustainable partnerships, deepening mutual understanding between participating countries, and building a common vision for the future of economic prosperity and development in the region.  LINK