Parliamentary comment on Sudanese’s speech at the UN meeting: “It was not at the required level.”, 23 SEPT
Hussein Al-Sabari, a member of the House of Representatives, stated that Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani’s speech during the annual United Nations meetings did not meet the expectations in terms of addressing the issues. Al-Sabari added that the Prime Minister used diplomacy and courteous language while discussing the escalating problems and issues that are being faced by Iraq.
In an interview, Al-Sabari mentioned that Al-Sudani did not provide the exact details that were supposed to be discussed during the United Nations meetings. He emphasized the importance of presenting the issues that the Iraqi people are facing before the international community.
During a conversation, he explained, “One of the reasons for not mentioning the other part of the unresolved issues is the increasing number of crises in various areas.” He also stated that “Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani’s speech did not sufficiently address all the outstanding issues.”
Al-Sabari confirms that Al-Sudani used diplomacy and courtesy to address issues and problems in Iraq during the past period, in his speech at the United Nations meetings.
The annual meetings of the United Nations, chaired by Al-Sudani, have come to a close after a series of meetings with participating country leaders. In his speech, he addressed several important topics, including the completion of development road construction and the fight against corruption. He also called for international support in these matters.
Economist For /NINA/: The Oil And Gas Law Will Contribute To Distributing The Financial Returns Of Iraqi Oil Wealth
Saturday 23, September 2023 09:49 | Economical Number of readings: 477 Baghdad / NINA / Economic affairs expert, Raad Tawij, called for avoiding the legislation of the oil and gas law and not delving into it, attributing this to the fact that oil is an indivisible, strategic commodity.
Twig said in a statement to the National Iraqi News Agency ( NINA ): “It is best for Iraq to avoid the oil and gas law and not engage in it because it harms the whole of Iraq,” attributing this to: “Oil is an indivisible, strategic commodity, and the oil and gas law can lead to dispersion.” The value of oil wealth.
He pointed out that "several parties are involved in managing the oil wealth, which will contribute to the fragmentation of the financial returns of the oil wealth and a significant shortfall in oil revenues and revenues, which will be difficult to compensate for. The evidence of this is the inability to formulate a law that satisfies everyone, which has continued for many years."
The economic expert continued, "This law may be a reason for illegal monetary demands from Iraq to local and international parties, such as Turkish financial demands from Iraq, taking advantage of its illegal contracts with the Kurdistan region."
Turkey-Iraq Development Road is the key Europe-Middle East link, report says, 23 SEPT
Shafaq News / During the recent G20 summit in New Delhi, without the participation of Russia and China, a key project was announced: the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (Imec), which aims to create an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). US President Joe Biden emphasised its “historic” significance.
The project is currently a political declaration of intent, with the support of both the EU and US. It will not materialise in the short term.
The Imec would connect Europe to India via the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, requiring a wide range of agreements. As an example, China is cooperating with around 140 countries for the BRI. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has opposed the Imec, saying the corridor “cannot be materialised without Turkey” and highlighting his country’s importance as a trade base.
Meanwhile, Turkey and Iraq have made progress in talks on another initiative: the Development Road project, a rail and highway link that would connect the Grand Faw Port in Basra to the southern Turkish border. Iraq’s prime minister has described this as the best option, and the least expensive one, for connecting the Middle East to Europe.
Erdogan has also stated that this project is a priority for Turkey, citing a plan to conclude negotiations within the next two months. The first phase of construction is expected to be completed by 2028.
Once built, the Grand Faw Port would be among the largest in the Middle East, with an area of 54 square kilometres and space to accommodate larger cargo ships. The breakwater at the port has been certified by Guinness World Records as the longest in the world, measuring approximately 14.5km.
The Development Road project can take advantage of the fact that there is already a railway line running south from Mosul, albeit a very old and troubled one in some parts. Renovation is already under way on some railway lines and stations in Iraq.
Governance obstacles
As Erdogan recently said, Qatar and the UAE support this project. The Gulf countries also have plans to lay a railway line among themselves. If the two initiatives are combined, transportation to Europe would become simpler.
The major challenges facing the Development Road project include political instability, complications with regard to state institutions, and security issues in Iraq. Although the security situation in Iraq has improved in recent years, the presence of militia groups continues to pose a threat, as evidenced by the recent clashes between Iran-backed fighters and Kurdish demonstrators in Kirkuk.
At the same time, the activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq continue to pose a threat. Turkey, which considers the PKK to be a terrorist organisation, has been carrying out air strikes against the group in Iraq.
Further complicating matters is the ongoing governance and power-sharing crisis in Iraq. The presence of groups that serve as proxies of foreign powers, with various connections to the Iraqi government, creates obstacles. In addition, there has still been no full reconciliation between Erbil and Baghdad, with unresolved issues over the budget and sharing of oil revenues.
Ankara’s close relations with Erbil, however, could help to ensure that these issues do not affect the Development Road project. At the same time, Erdogan is trying to situate the project in a regional framework, rather than portraying it as simply a bilateral initiative between Turkey and Iraq.
The Development Road would not just connect the Middle East to Europe via Turkey; it would also connect Turkey to the Gulf states. Ankara’s vision in this regard aligns with the policy of multilateralism that the Gulf countries have recently developed. It comes as Turkey has been working to rebuild relations with the UAE and Saudi Arabia after a period of tensions.
At this point, while the Imec is still just a theoretical concept, the Development Road project is actively materialising. This gives it a good chance for success.
[via WiserNow] ...we talked about whether or not the rate of the Iraqi dinar would be in the printed gazette Wednesday...
And we checked it and yes, it was. It was according to our sources, put in the printed version of the Gazette, which means that the RV actually happened yesterday [Wednesday] - in Iraq and throughout the Middle East -
who were able to see... and read the printed version of the Gazette in Arabic - and so they got started, essentially yesterday in that region of the world...Now, what about us.
...what we have heard
...we will get started on or by Saturday...What we also know is on Saturday, the plan is to put the rate of the Iraqi dinar out on the digital version of the gazette....
my understanding is that's the version that people would be able to see internationally...So we're looking for a pretty big weekend.
[via WiserNow] ...the oil and gas law which is the HCL, the hydrocarbon law...got...passed...
they're going to start paying that out to the people of Iraq, this is something they get proceeds from their portion meted out to each citizen... I believe it's this month...could be October... I can't remember exactly when but that has been agreed upon...
Plans for historic GCC-Iran-Iraq dinner in New York collapse, 23 SEPT
Shafaq News/ Plans for a historic meeting in New York gathering the foreign ministers of Gulf Arab states, Iran and Iraq have collapsed at the last minute, Amwaj.media reported on Saturday.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was set to chair the session on Sept. 23. But an escalating dispute between Iraq and Kuwait has put a stop to the endeavor, informed sources told the UK-based website. As the meeting is “unlikely” at this point, a senior political source in New York said, “worst-case scenarios are being prepared.”
Regional diplomacy
While the recent Iran-US prisoner swap has grabbed headlines, a meeting of chief diplomats from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, Iran and Iraq scheduled for this week had been expected to be a crowning achievement for regional engagement.
The Sept. 23 session was initially envisioned as a lunch, informed sources told Amwaj.media, but was later confirmed as a dinner. Formal invitations were sent out to all eight participants earlier this month. A regional diplomatic source said the session was to be convened under UN Security Council Resolution 598, which calls for the establishment of Regional Dialogue Fora, with Secretary-General Guterres as chair.
The plans for the GCC-Iran-Iraq dinner in New York had been marred by three sets of issues, Amwaj.media has learned.
Initially, the initiative was hit by apparent divisions on whether to proceed with it at this time. Diplomatic sources in the region underscored that Iran and Saudi Arabia—regional rivals which in March agreed to normalize ties after seven years of estrangement—backed the meeting. But some GCC member states were seemingly expressing doubts about the purpose and timing of the session, a diplomatic source in the region previously told Amwaj.media.
Part of the contention revolved around the different perceptions of what the meeting was about. In late August, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri-Kani said it would facilitate the “soft exit” of the US from the region, while highlighting that it would take place despite US “interference” geared to shape the agenda in line with American “interests.” But political insiders have portrayed a wholly different picture of regional dynamics.
One senior source previously told Amwaj.media that Saudi Arabia and other GCC states are in fact asking Washington for more security assurances while welcoming the recent US deployment of more troops. Of note, as part of its talks with the Joe Biden administration on normalization with Israel, the Kingdom reportedly wants “NATO-level” security guarantees. Moreover, amid rising tension with Iran over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) ship seizures, the Pentagon last month added 3,000 sailors and marines to the region.
While the internal GCC obstacle to the dinner was overcome, the recent flaring up of a dispute between Iraq and Kuwait over maritime boundaries seems to have collapsed the plans for the Sept. 23 dinner.
Iraq’s federal supreme court on Sept. 4 ruled that the Iraqi parliament’s 2013 ratification of a 2012 agreement on the shared Khor Abdullah waterway was “unconstitutional.” The ruling promptly sparked escalating contention between the two neighbors. At a Sept. 21 meeting in New York, Kuwait’s prime minister told his Iraqi counterpart that Baghdad must adopt “concrete, decisive, and urgent measures” to “address historical fallacies against Kuwait” in the court ruling. Kuwait has also been quick to seek support from its GCC and western allies. The sheikhdom’s foreign minister on Sept. 20 met with his Gulf Arab and US counterparts in New York, with the session resulting in a joint statement urging Iraq to “finalize the demarcation” of the maritime border with Kuwait.
Since the Iraqi court ruling followed an appeal lodged by a political affiliate of an Iran-backed armed group, some observers have linked the timing of events to Tehran’s ongoing dispute with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia over an offshore gas field.
Beyond the Iraq-Kuwait dispute, the plans for the Sept. 23 dinner are also said to have been marred by scheduling issues, with at least one foreign minister unable to attend the gathering due to prior plans.
A meeting of regional foreign ministers in New York would have been a diplomatic victory for Iran, which has long sought the establishment of Regional Dialogue Fora under UN Security Council Resolution 598.
The Ebrahim Raisi administration has over the past years hailed what is characterized as a US failure to isolate the Islamic Republic, pointing to Iran’s accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), rapprochement with Saudi Arabia, and recent invitation to join the BRICS group of countries.
With the plans for the Sept. 23 dinner having fallen through, Iran and Arab states that are willing to meet in a multilateral setting are faced with several options. They could delay a ministerial meeting until a more appropriate time, or proceed down the line in a different format—possibly at a lower level, with fewer participants and potentially outside the UN umbrella.
One key question in the latter scenario would pertain to the hosting, especially if the dialogue is to be held within the region. The trend in recent years clearly indicates a strong preference to “localize” regional dialogue, with the Baghdad Conference on track to become a regular occurrence, while other more established international gatherings such as the Manama Dialogue and the Doha Forum have also made a name for themselves. In this context, Oman and Qatar are the obvious options for possible hosts.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one political source in the region previously hinted to Amwaj.media that a meeting of a smaller group may in fact be preferable given the higher chances of consent among the participants. Another senior source posited that the first meeting of Arab and Iranian top diplomats—whether among all eight foreign ministers or in a more limited format—should involve “the preparation of a statement that includes generalities that are not controversial.” But there will nonetheless need to be an understanding to eventually tackle issues that are prioritized by all sides. If the Iraq-Kuwait and Iran-Kuwait-Saudi disputes are any indication, maritime boundaries may be in need of renewed attention."
