KTFA:

Clare:  Urgent  Parliament Presidency sets date for resuming sessions

11/16/2024

The Parliament Presidency set, today, Friday, the date for resuming sessions next week after the completion of the population census operations in the country.

The media department of the House of Representatives stated in a statement received by {Euphrates News} that "the Presidency of the House of Representatives affirms its full support for conducting the general population and housing census 2024, and urges the representatives to direct and encourage citizens in their areas to cooperate with the field teams affiliated with the Ministry of Planning to accomplish their tasks with the aim of making the census operations that will be conducted on the 20th and 21st of this month a success." 

The statement confirmed, "Given the presence of representatives in their governorates and the importance of the census, it was decided to resume the sessions next week after the completion of the population census operations in the country."   LINK

Clare: Al-Sudani approves 35 new service projects to be attached to 2024 projects

11/16/2024

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani approved, on Saturday, adding dozens of new service projects to the 2024 projects in the capital, Baghdad, and other governorates.

This came during his chairmanship of the periodic meeting of the service and engineering effort team, according to a statement issued by Al-Sudani's media office.

The statement said that the meeting witnessed a review of the progress of the projects being implemented by the effort team, and the rates of achievement achieved in them. Approval was also given to 35 new service projects attached to the 2024 projects, which will begin implementation within 10 days in Baghdad and a number of governorates.

The Prime Minister stressed the need to complete the 2024 projects before the end of the year, noting that these projects must be implemented according to high standard technical specifications, in order to provide services to citizens in a qualitative and distinctive manner.  LINK

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Clare:  Industry confirms success by signing 4 investment contracts for strategic industries

11/16/2024 Baghdad

The Ministry of Industry and Minerals announced today, Wednesday, the launch of 256 investment opportunities through three conferences, while confirming the success of signing 4 investment contracts in strategic industries. 

The ministry's spokesperson, Dhuha Al-Jubouri, said in a statement received by "Mawazine News": "The Ministry of Industry held three conferences: the first was the Mineral Investment Conference in Baghdad under the patronage and attendance of the Prime Minister, during which 31 investment opportunities were launched. The second was the Industrial Partnerships Forum in the presence of the Prime Minister, during which 90 investment opportunities were launched. The third was the Baghdad International Forum for Industry and Mining, which was held a month ago, during which 135 investment opportunities were launched. 

" She added, "The ministry's vision regarding conferences is to present private investment opportunities in a transparent manner to the media in the presence of investors, businessmen and investment companies, in order to review all investment opportunities related to the Ministry of Industry and Minerals."

She added, "The submission of offers for these industrial opportunities is by investors, businessmen and investing companies, and the best is chosen after studying the offers," noting that "the ministry succeeded in signing a number of participation contracts on the basis of these conferences that it held in previous periods, and a number of participation contracts were signed for important strategic industries in the presence of the Prime Minister

 Including a contract to establish, rehabilitate and develop a refined sulfur production line in Nineveh Governorate for the Mishraq 1 field with a capacity of one and a half million tons annually of refined sulfur production, and a contract to produce the fertilizer project in Baiji and also Abu Al-Khaseeb fertilizers in Basra Governorate was signed, and a contract was signed for the glass and refractories construction project in Ramadi and the sodium carbonate production project, the foundation stone of which was laid this year with the expansion of the sodium and chlorine plant project in Al-Musayyab district in Babylon."

She stated that "these contracts came as a result of the conferences held by the ministry," explaining that "the offers presented at the last conference are under study and the best of them are being selected."   LINK

Clare:  Advance payment and tax benefits" .. This is how Turkmenistan will export gas to Iraq, the "rare customer"

11/16/2024

The Times of Central Asia reported on Saturday that Turkmenistan has signed what it described as a “binding agreement” for gas shipments to Iraq via Iran, after obtaining Iraq’s approval for an “advance payment plan and tax concessions.”

The newspaper pointed out in a report translated by Shafaq News Agency, the importance that Turkmenistan attaches to the agreement with Iraq, the "new and rare customer" that will import large quantities of gas from this country, which has the fourth largest gas reserves in the world.

The New York-based newspaper's report explained that Turkmenistan is reshaping its options for exporting natural gas, noting that despite its current ranking of 4th in the world, it is currently exporting a smaller quantity of gas than it did 16 years ago.

Mega projects

The report pointed out that the huge gas pipeline projects that were envisioned about 30 years ago, including the pipeline across Afghanistan to supply gas to Pakistan and India, and the pipeline across the Caspian Sea to transport gas to Europe, remain unfeasible for political reasons.

The report added that Russia was previously a major customer of Turkmen gas for most of the past three decades, but Moscow is now competing for some of the same potential buyers as Turkmenistan.

The report said that after Turkmenistan stumbled in its quest to find new markets, it now intends to sell gas to Iraq, by arranging a swap deal with Iran that includes bringing Iranian companies to Turkmenistan to build a new pipeline.

The report pointed out that while Turkmenistan was looking for new customers for gas, Iraq was not a potential buyer of gas until recently, noting that the Nabucco gas pipeline project, which has been stalled for about 15 years, had envisioned Iraq as a potential source of gas to Europe.

Interesting deal

The report described Turkmenistan's deal with Iraq as "interesting, and the only deal available for verification at the present time.

The report explained that since the two countries are not connected by any pipelines, Turkmenistan will ship up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Iran, which will in turn ship 10 billion cubic meters of Iranian gas to Iraq.

The report added that Turkmenistan signed what was described as a "binding agreement" for these gas shipments, after obtaining Iraq's approval for "an advance payment plan and tax concessions."

The report stated that about 40% of Iraq's gas imports in recent years came from Iran, indicating that the gas industry in Iraq is still in the recovery phase after years of war, and it needs imported gas to operate power plants in the country, noting that the sanctions imposed on Iran have made it difficult for Iraq to pay financial payments for this Iranian gas.

The report pointed out that there are two pipelines linking the gas fields in Turkmenistan to northern Iran. The first is the 200-kilometre-long Korbeji-Kordkuy pipeline, which was launched in 1997, and the second is the Dowlatabad-Sarakhs-Khanjiran pipeline, which was launched in January 2010.

However, the report explained that Turkmenistan was unable to ship the necessary quantity in the two lines, which have a combined capacity of 20 billion cubic meters. Its exports ranged between 6-8 billion cubic meters annually for years, while Tehran was paying for Turkmen gas through barter, exporting a range of goods, including food and engineering services to Turkmenistan.

The report stated that a dispute arose between the two countries in late 2016, as Turkmenistan claimed that Iran owed it about $2 billion for gas it received in the winter of 2007-2008, while Iran responded by saying that Turkmenistan was working to inflate the price.

The report explained that the winter of that year was extremely cold, which caused a severe shortage of gas in 20 Iranian provinces. Iranian media reported in December 2016 that “Turkmenistan exploited this situation to demand a 9-fold increase in the price, which led to the price rising to $360 from $40 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas.”

The report added that on January 1, 2017, Turkmenistan stopped gas supplies to Iran, and the two countries resorted to international arbitration, a case that was eventually settled in Turkmenistan's favor in June 2020.

The report indicated that Iranian and Turkmen officials are holding talks on gas, but after about 8 years, Turkmen gas exports to Iran have not resumed.

The report pointed out that shipping 10 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan to Iran requires maintenance and repair operations for the two damaged pipelines linking the two countries.

He added that officials from the two countries held a meeting in July 2024 to sign a gas transportation contract, an agreement that stipulates that “Iranian companies will establish a new 125-kilometer gas pipeline along with three gas pressure booster stations in Turkmenistan with the aim of increasing annual gas shipments to Iran to 40 billion cubic meters.”

According to the report, the Iranian companies participating in the project have not been identified, but this represents an exceptional step by Turkmenistan to allow foreign companies to implement such a project.

The report noted that increasing gas shipments to Iran to 40 billion cubic meters would require the construction of a new pipeline with a capacity of 20 billion cubic meters of gas, which would double the current total capacity of the two existing pipelines. It noted that another unclear issue is that only 10 billion cubic meters of this gas will go to Iraq, while the final destination of the remaining 30 billion cubic meters that Iran plans to import is not clear.

The report concluded that Turkmenistan is trying to sell gas to anyone interested, noting that among the countries mentioned by Turkmen officials as potential customers are Azerbaijan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Kazakhstan, and the European Union, but in a vague manner, adding that China is currently the main buyer of Turkmenistan's gas, supplying it with about 35 billion cubic meters of gas.

He pointed out that Russia has significantly reduced its imports of Turkmen gas since 2009, and Russia has also become Turkmenistan's main competitor for regional customers, including Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which are neighboring countries of Turkmenistan.

Afghanistan’s gas exports are also unlikely for now due to the lack of foreign investors. Turkmenistan also lacks the infrastructure to export its gas to Europe via Türkiye and Azerbaijan.

The report continued by saying that the 40 billion cubic meters referred to in the recent Iranian-Turkmen agreement could indicate that Iran will buy Turkmen gas again in the future, and in larger quantities than before, adding that the most secure deal that Turkmenistan can reach at the present time to increase its gas exports is the agreement with Iraq.

"It remains to be seen whether this swap arrangement, which includes Iran, can achieve the promised 10 billion cubic meters," he added.   LINK

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Clare:  Al-Alaq: 90% of Iraqi housing projects are funded by the Central Bank with 13 trillion dinar

11/16/2024

The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Alaq, confirmed on Saturday that 90% of housing projects in Iraq are financed by the bank, and have led to the activation of economic activity in the country, noting that the financing of housing, commercial and investment loans has reached 13 trillion dinars.

Al-Alaq said during his speech at the conference held by Al-Baidar Center for Studies under the title "Transition towards a flexible economy in Iraq", which was attended by Shafaq News Agency correspondent, that "there must be a comprehensive strategy that focuses on policies that create a real partnership between the public and private sectors and move to mobilize economic tools, whether in financial or economic policy."

He pointed out that "one of these tools is the state's general budget, which constitutes a fundamental pillar in determining the paths of the economy and growth and represents a real confrontation with the challenge," indicating that "the absence of planning has become a kind of challenge represented by the fact that flexibility in the spending aspect is limited, and this requires that there be an ability to cover actual and real spending."

He explained that "restructuring the budget is necessary because the state's public spending determines many paths and the shape of the different economic trends and confronts the changes that occur in this framework."

Al-Alaq pointed out that "the recent call by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to restructure the state ministries and their laws is aimed at addressing the role of the government and ministries and participation in the public and economic sector."

He stressed that "there is talk about resources that could generate revenues for the state, if there was real efficiency and effectiveness in generating revenues, and that there are many sources and opportunities to enhance those revenues," indicating that "the intensification with the change that occurs in oil prices leads to a decrease in the state's general budget revenues, and is reflected in the investment budget, and considering that the other part is represented by salaries and wages, the decrease in oil prices affects investments."

He explained that "monetary and fiscal policy constitute economic policy and there must be effective coordination between the two policies to reach acceptable results," stressing that "the preparation of the general budget must be a basic partner in shaping its features, and this matter is largely related to the function of the bank. For example, the size of the deficit has a direct impact on monetary policy and this must be studied directly."

Al-Alaq concluded by saying, “Supporting private sector financing should be a key partner with the government to implement the economic program in many sectors, and the Central Bank launched the initiative to finance residential, commercial and investment loans, and this number reached 13 trillion dinars to finance projects, as 90% of housing projects in Iraq are financed by the Central Bank and have led to the activation of economic activity in the country.”  LINK