Friday, December 1, 2023
ADVISER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: ECONOMIC POLICY IN IRAQ IS MOVING TOWARDS IMPLEMENTING THE PRINCIPLE OF MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY WITH COMMENTS OF MNT GOAT, 1 DEC
ADVISER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: ECONOMIC POLICY IN IRAQ IS MOVING TOWARDS IMPLEMENTING THE PRINCIPLE OF MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY
(Oh gee whiz… it seems Mnt Goat was correct again….lol..lol.. read it and weep all you gurus making fun of my blog.. ☹)
The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed today, Tuesday, that the economic policy in Iraq is moving towards implementing the principle of monetary sovereignty (RV written all over this article), and while he pointed out that the informal exchange market represents only 10% of circulation, he stressed that the currency cannot be controlled.
A country other than the dinar with in-country pricing (or program rate); Because monetary duality has harmed the economy, (due to an inadequate rate of the dinar assigned) he pointed out at the same time that there is a tendency to diversify currencies for travel purposes and not be limited to the dollar.
Saleh told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “Economic policy in general and monetary policy in particular are moving towards a new principle called (monetary sovereignty), which considers the Iraqi dinar the only refuge for exchange, pricing, and coverage of internal transactions.”
He added, “It is not permissible for the currency of another country whose monetary policy is subject to pricing and trade exchange operations within the Iraqi economy, and the principle of monetary sovereignty starts from this level.” (Yes, it starts by fairly pegging your currency and assigning a rate to reflect the true value of it.)
He continued, “The problem in Iraq is the existence of two exchange markets: the first is the regular one in which exchange takes place through the central bank’s platforms, which prices the exchange rate at 1,320 dinars to the dollar as a stable and official price and defends monetary policy.”
He explained, “The second market is irregular, representing 10% of the trading rate. It is an uncontrolled market controlled by speculators and adds noise to the Iraqi economy as a whole.”
He pointed out, “There are two things: The first is commodity diversification, which the government has begun through baskets supporting livelihoods, including the food basket, which has achieved stability in the prices of materials, as well as the medicine basket, a construction basket, and another basket for reserve materials that the Ministry of Commerce will launch soon. These are funded at the official exchange rate and help… Stabilize prices and counteract the noise introduced by the informal market.”
He stressed that “dealing in the dollar (dollarization) and its pricing of the internal economic movement is what is most harmful to the economy, but there is no harm in covering external transactions exclusively and through official platforms.”
Saleh pointed out, “On this basis, government policy and the policy of the Central Bank moved towards not relying on one country’s currency in foreign transactions and diversifying those currencies such as the Emirati dirham, the Turkish lira, the Chinese yuan, the British pound, and the euro, in addition to the dollar. This diversification reduces the dollarization of the economy and gives it great independence.”
He stressed, “This diversification can be generalized at the level of selling foreign cash currencies for travel purposes and according to the currency of the country to which one is traveling. This will greatly reduce the demand for the dollar as a single currency in transactions, and the monetary and commodity diversification adds independence to the Iraqi economy.”
Regarding Iraq’s steps to provide these currencies, Saleh said, “The monetary authority in Iraq is independent and there is a wide consultation circle between it and the government. This is happening for the first time to open banking arrangements with central banks in countries that have a commercial partnership with Iraq, such as the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and China, and it is possible to cooperate with these countries.” Directly in their national currencies to achieve ease of conversion and exchange to finance trade and the movement of goods, supported by a stable exchange rate of 1,320 dinars, which allows for achieving stability and monetary sovereignty.”
He pointed out, “The demand for foreign currency is linked to the demand for goods and external transactions. It is dangerous to use the dollar to cover internal transactions, and monetary double-dealing has harmed Iraq. This must end, and it does not mean not providing foreign currency to citizens for the purposes of financing foreign trade or for the purposes of travel and tourism. Therefore, there are steps.” This is a major regulatory change aimed at achieving diversification through agreement with several countries with which transactions are conducted.”
He stressed, “The state has large commercial arms, and whenever it finds that there are needs affected by secondary market noise, the commercial apparatus intervenes to expand its dealings, supported by a stable exchange rate, as well as in cooperation with Iraqi merchants.”
Regarding the government’s steps to strengthen the banking system, the Prime Minister’s advisor said, “There is a large team headed by the Prime Minister that directly supervises the reform of the banking system, and the largest system is the government system, whose assets dominate 85% of the assets of the banking system in Iraq, so the reform begins with government banks.” We are working on this seriously, and during the next 6 months the results of this reform will appear, and there will also be work in parallel to reform the private banking system, and there is a strong movement and cooperation in this direction with the associations of private and Islamic banks.”
He stressed, “The Prime Minister’s philosophy confirms that economic reform cannot be achieved without reforming the banking system, and therefore the priority begins with reforming the financial system.”
Iraq predictions 2024: American forces will remain, the factions will continue to attack, and Sudanese will pay the price, 1 DEC
Iraq predictions 2024: American forces will remain, the factions will continue to attack, and Sudanese will pay the price
Economist: The government is required to shift to a flexible economy by encouraging investment and protecting investors from extortion, 1 DEC
Economist: The government is required to shift to a flexible economy by encouraging investment and protecting investors from extortion
Economic expert Saleh Al-Hamashi called on the government to shift to a flexible economy by encouraging investment and protecting investors from government blackmail and others.
He said in a statement to the National Iraqi News Agency ( NINA ): “The global economic conditions are fluctuating, global growth is slowing down, the region is suffering from major political and security crises, events are accelerating, and the possibilities are many, and all of these events are casting a shadow on the region’s economies.”
Al-Hamashi added: “Iraq already suffers from the problem of the rentier economy, which by its nature is inflexible in the face of economic, political and security fluctuations, as it turns the state into a financial one and leaves it out of the general economy.”
He pointed out: "Iraq today has benefited from the rise in global oil prices, but has been affected by the rise in global prices for foodstuffs. All commodities have also risen globally, and the government is unable to address or compensate for the shortage locally because the Iraqi economy has become a hostage of regional and global economies."
Al-Hamashi expressed his belief that the impact has become direct on the Iraqi economy in all economic developments, calling on the government to develop a plan to transform into a flexible economy capable of facing all changes by encouraging investment and protecting investors from governmental and non-governmental blackmail, as well as activating the role of banks in moving the wheel of the economy. By providing cash liquidity and easy movement of funds.” link
Kurdish Delegation Fails to Separate Salaries from Budget in Talks with Iraqi Government, 1 DEC
Kurdish Delegation Fails to Separate Salaries from Budget in Talks with Iraqi Government
In a recent turn of events, a delegation from Iraq’s Kurdistan region failed to persuade Iraq’s federal government to separate employee salaries from Kurdistan’s share of the general budget. The delegation, led by the region’s Minister of Finance and Economy, Awat Sheikh Janab, faced a deadlock with the federal government over the crucial issue.
Non-Oil Revenue Dilemma
According to an anonymous Kurdish source from the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the stalemate stems from a stipulation in the general budget law passed by the Iraqi parliament earlier this year. The law states that in exchange for the federal Ministry of Finance’s commitment to fund the region’s entitlements monthly, Kurdistan must deliver its non-oil revenues to the state. However, the narrative reveals that the agreement between the federal government and Kurdistan has not been fully honored, leading to recurring problems with funding the region’s employee salaries.
Discrepancy in Oil Production Costs
Apart from the non-oil revenue issue, the two parties also disagreed on the cost of oil production between companies operating in Kurdistan and others in the rest of the provinces. The federal general budget law for 2023-2025 sets the cost of producing and transporting each barrel of oil at $6-9. In stark contrast, the Kurdistan Natural Resources Ministry states that oil production costs in the region range from $32-91 per barrel, a significant discrepancy that poses yet another challenge to their agreement.
Unilateral Control and Rejected Requests
Adding to the complexities, the Kurdistan coordination framework is adopting a unilateral internal strategy to control all state positions, not just in the Shiite space but also in the wider Iraqi public space. This move has been met with some resistance, as evidenced by the Iraqi High Independent Commission for Elections’ rejection of a request from the former Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Mohammed Al-Halbousi. Al-Halbousi had requested that his parliamentary seat be filled by a candidate from the Progress Party, a request that the commission turned down.
Meanwhile, the West Bank has seen a surge in tensions, coinciding with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to the region. Blinken’s visit comes amid efforts to extend a humanitarian truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, along with the exchange of more prisoners held in Gaza for Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. The interplay of these events paints a complex picture of the ongoing political and social dynamics in the region.
"RV UPDATE" BY MNT GOAT, 1 DEC
Mnt Goat
“ADVISER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: ECONOMIC POLICY IN IRAQ IS MOVING TOWARDS IMPLEMENTING THE PRINCIPLE OF MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY” WOW! WOW! WOW!
It tells us flat right out in the open that Iraq is about to take complete control over their currency again. WOW! ...This has reinstatement and RV written all over this statement...
What will 2024 look like?
I will say one thing for sure as it will not be business as usual in Iraq...I will also dismiss this silly notion once again that Iraq must first rebuilt their economy and then watch the value of the dinar grow with it from 1/6 of a penny upwards...
the very basis of the economy now is generating billions each month in oil revenues ...So why not reflect this value of the oil reserves alone in the rate of the dinar. If nothing else this wealth should be reflected into the equation of the rate of the dinar...
I mean right now, NOT five or ten years from now... we can see the current rate does not reflect the currency value...Oh…but there is much more growth already than just oil too...We know for a FACT the dinar is being “artificially suppressed”.
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Frank26 [Bank story] This time we didn't go down, we just called [the bank]... We said we want to see if we can exchange some cu...
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Bank appointment for Currency EXCHANGE Instructions/Checklist Bank Name_________________________________________ Bank 800#____________...
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Walkingstick All these meetings that the CBI had with all these agencies that were helping them with their monetary reform are done. Al...