“Tidbits From TNT” Sunday Morning 1-19-2025

TNT:

Tishwash:  Parliamentary Finance to Nina: Parliament will first approve the amendment to the budget law, then its schedules

The Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed that the Council of Representatives will first approve the draft amendment to the General Budget Law, followed by the approval of the budget schedules later.

Member of the committee, MP Moeen Al-Kazemi, stated to the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / that "the draft amendment to the General Budget Law relates to resuming oil exports from the Kurdistan Region fields at a cost of $ 16 per barrel instead of $ 6, and this is within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Oil and the Prime Minister's advisors," noting that "the Ministry of Finance is not aware of the technical details related to this."

He explained that "the Finance Committee sought to mature and clarify the feasibility of the draft amendment to the law to the representatives, in order to pass the amendment to the text of Article 12, Second C of the General Budget Law."

He added, "The texts of the three-year budget 2023-2024-2025 are completely fixed except for the text that the government submitted an amendment to, and therefore the government decided to wait for the House of Representatives to ratify Article 12, Second C, to enable it to calculate the cost required to extract and transport oil from the fields of the Kurdistan Region," indicating that "the House of Representatives will first ratify the draft amendment to the General Budget Law and then proceed to ratify the budget tables later."

The House of Representatives is scheduled to hold its regular session this afternoon, Sunday, and its agenda includes voting on the draft first amendment to the Federal General Budget Law for the fiscal years 2023-2024-2025 No. 13 of 2023. link

************

Tishwash:  Iraq tells US it looks forward to strengthening cooperation with America under Trump

 On Saturday, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein informed the United States of Iraq's aspiration to enhance bilateral cooperation under the upcoming US administration headed by Donald Trump.

This came during the Foreign Minister's reception of the new Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Baghdad, Daniel Rubinstein, according to a statement received by Shafaq News Agency.

At the beginning of the meeting, Hussein congratulated Rubinstein on assuming his new duties, and while stressing the depth of Iraqi-American relations, he expressed Iraq's aspiration to enhance bilateral cooperation under the next American administration.

The meeting witnessed in-depth discussions on bilateral relations between the two countries, in addition to reviewing regional conditions, especially the situation in Syria. The two sides also touched on current political developments and the pivotal role played by Western countries, primarily the United States, in the course of events inside Syria, according to the statement.

According to the Iraqi statement, the two parties discussed the outcomes of the Riyadh Conference on Syria, which witnessed the participation of the US Under Secretary of State, and stressed the importance of following up on the recommendations that emerged from the conference.

At the end of the meeting, Hussein stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between Iraq and the United States, in a way that serves common interests and contributes to achieving regional stability  link

************

Tishwash:  Iraq calls on the world to conduct a comprehensive reform of the financial system and a dialogue on technology governance

The representative of Iraq to the United Nations in New York, Abbas Kazim Obaid, in his capacity as Chairman of the Group of 77 and China, delivered the group’s statement during the session of the United Nations General Assembly in which the Secretary-General reviewed the priorities of his term for the year 2025, in light of the circumstances and challenges facing the international community.

In his statement, the representative of Iraq stressed the complex and interconnected global challenges, including ongoing conflicts, the effects of climate change, poverty, hunger, high debt levels, limited financing for the Sustainable Development Goals, and the growing digital divide. He stressed the need to support developing countries in financing sustainable development through the Fourth Conference on Financing for Development.

He called for a comprehensive reform of the global financial system to address structural inequalities, ensure equitable access to long-term finance, and advance sustainable development efforts.

He also stressed the importance of fully implementing the decisions of the Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, while supporting the Secretary-General’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Obaid also called for a comprehensive international governmental process to address the digital divide, the establishment of an independent scientific team for artificial intelligence, and the launch of a global dialogue on technology governance. link

Mot: Sitting in Grandpas chair  

Mot: ... so much to do!!!!