WEDNESDAY APPROVED A PREREQUISITE FOR THE PREPARATION OF AN OIL AND GAS LAW WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN BAGHDAD
Baghdad – NAS
The Kurdistan Regional Council of Ministers on Wednesday approved a prerequisite for the preparation of an oil and gas law with the federal government in Baghdad, which is based on “constitutional foundations.”
According to the statement of the Kurdistan Council of Ministers, a copy of which was received by NAS, (August 9, 2023), “the Council held its weekly meeting under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and in the presence of Deputy Chairman of the Council Qubad Talabani, and dealt with a number of topics on its agenda.”
The statement explained that “at the beginning of the first paragraph of its agenda, the Council of Ministers reviewed the results of the visit of the delegation of the Kurdistan Regional Government to Baghdad, related to the preparation of the draft federal oil and gas law jointly between the federal government, the Kurdistan region and the Iraqi provinces producing oil and gas, based on the constitutional articles related to the oil and gas sector.”
The Prime Minister stressed “the need to prepare a draft oil and gas law at the level of federal Iraq, based on the provisions of the constitution related to the oil and gas sector, and these constitutional articles must form the main pillar for this, as clearly stipulated in the constitution, and the draft law should have the approval of the federal government, the Kurdistan region and the oil-producing provinces in Iraq, reflecting the principles of the federal system in the country, as proven in the constitution.”
The Prime Minister stressed “the need to respect the agreements concluded between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government on the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the region.”
Barzani stressed “the importance of having a law regulating the oil and gas sector at the level of Iraq, provided that it complies with the principles of regulating this sector and with the federal system of the Iraqi state, as stated in the constitution.”
In the second paragraph of the meeting’s agenda, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Quistan Mohammed presented a draft project (the system of the Fund for the Care and Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities, Special Needs and Short Stature), which was prepared in the light of Law No. 22 of 2011, which aims to activate the role of the Fund in collecting revenues collected in this field, and then re-spending them in order to provide the necessary services for people with disabilities and short stature by providing all the care, rehabilitation and social development they need, as well as supporting them. In various economic, community, health and educational fields, under this system, provided that a board of directors of the Fund shall be formed that includes representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities, special needs and short stature, as they will have equal powers with government agencies in making decisions related to the management of the Fund.”
After discussions and deliberations, the Council of Ministers unanimously approved the law and directed the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in coordination with the relevant ministries and organizations to take the necessary measures after the entry into force of this law.
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THE DILEMMA OF THE DOLLAR AND BLACK REMITTANCES.. AN EXPECTED “DUEL” BETWEEN THE “FEDERAL” AND NEW IRAQI BANKS
Today, Wednesday (August 9, 2023), the expert in banking affairs, Nasser Al-Kinani, confirmed that banks affiliated with political parties are behind the dollar crisis in Iraq.
And he indicated that “the political protection of some of these banks is a reason why they are not held accountable by the competent Iraqi authorities,” noting that “US sanctions are imposed on them, to prevent misuse of the dollar currency.”
And it is likely that “the continuation of the work of these banks outside international standards means imposing new US sanctions on new banks during the next stage.”
The Dollar Battle:
In early August, Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani revealed the details of the dollar crisis, which he described as a “battle”, announcing at the same time the arrest of a network of “major speculators” linked to speculators in the Kurdistan region.
Last July, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 14 Iraqi banks, in a move described as a “campaign” against Iran’s dealings in dollars .
The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying: “The move came after the disclosure of information indicating that the targeted banks were involved in money laundering and fraudulent transactions .”
The newspaper added, “Some of these operations may relate to individuals subject to sanctions, which increases fears that Iran will benefit from it .”
“The main danger of sanctions in Iraq is definitely related to Iran, ” the US official added.
With names.. 14 Iraqi banks punished:
“Baghdad Today” learned that the sanctions affected banks (the Islamic Advisor for Investment and Finance, the Islamic Qartas for Investment and Finance, as well as the Islamic Spectrum, Elaf Bank, Erbil Bank for Investment and Finance, the International Islamic Bank, Trans-Iraq Bank, Mosul Bank for Development and Investment, Al-Rajih Bank, Sumer Commercial Bank, Trust International Islamic Bank, and Ur Islamic Bank And the Islamic World Bank for Investment and Finance, as well as Zain Iraq Islamic Bank for Investment and Finance.
The currency market is experiencing unprecedented confusion, which called on merchants and bankers to stop selling the dollar in light of the accelerating disparity, hoping to limit potential huge losses, which could put the government in an embarrassing position.
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