Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Working Party Chair visits Baghdad to hold high-level consultations on Iraq’s accession, 24 JAN
Working Party Chair visits Baghdad to hold high-level consultations on Iraq’s accession
16 JANUARY 2024
ACCESSIONS
The Chair of Iraq’s Accession Working Party, Ambassador Saqer AlMoqbel of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, visited Baghdad on 15-16 January 2024 to galvanize political support for the resumption of Iraq’s WTO accession process.
The Chair engaged in high-level meetings with the Government, emphasizing the importance of the accession process to advance Baghdad’s economic reforms. The Government of Iraq affirmed its full commitment to an early resumption of the process by enacting the necessary economic and legal reforms.
The Chair's visit was the first by a WTO delegation to Iraq, whose accession process started in 2004. It focused on the resumption of the work of Iraq's Working Party, which last met formally in April 2008. His visit started with a meeting with President Abdul Latif Rashid, who affirmed “Iraq's keenness to join the WTO by achieving the commercial and economic standards” and highlighted the work of Iraq's National Committee on WTO Accession to prepare for the formal resumption.
During his two-day visit, the Chair also met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning Mohamed Tamim, Minister of Trade and Chair of the Iraqi National Committee on WTO Accession Atheer Al Ghurairi, the Head of the Parliamentary Economic Industry and Trade Committee Ahmed Al Kinani and the Representative for the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Hussain Al Uloom. He was also invited to attend the 36th meeting of the Iraqi National Committee on WTO Accession.
Ambassador AlMoqbel, appointed as Chair in June 2023, stressed the strategic importance of Iraq's accession for the WTO membership, and especially for the Arab region, which is currently one of the most underrepresented in the organization.
“Iraq is one of the largest economies which remains outside the multilateral trading system,” he said, highlighting the benefits of WTO membership for Saudi Arabia, which joined the organization in 2005. “Given its strategic location, Iraq's integration into the global economy through WTO membership can help deepen regional economic integration, which in turn can contribute to peace and security in the region,” he added.
All meetings confirmed the strong political will to accede to the WTO by the government, which believes that the accession process can contribute to “consolidating security and stability, developing economic activity, encouraging foreign investment in the country, in addition to consolidating relations with neighbouring countries and the world,” as explained by President Rashid.
Despite the lack of formal engagement since 2008, the Working Party met informally in November 2017 and discussed how to reactivate its technical work. In 2022, Iraq circulated eight key accession documents, including the revised Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR), replies to members' questions, a revised Legislative Action Plan, updated information on agricultural domestic support, and questionnaires on import licensing and customs valuation,
During the visit to Baghdad, the Chair was informed that Iraq's initial market access offers on goods and services would be circulated soon, in preparation for holding the 3rd meeting of the Working Party in the middle of 2024.
The team in the Ministry of Trade will “take real steps that will shorten the path to Iraq's accession to the World Trade Organization and ultimately benefit from the advantages offered by this accession,” indicated Minister Al Ghurairi.
The Chair also met with representatives of the European Union and the United States as well as the International Trade Centre (ITC), which provide technical assistance to Iraq. “Addressing Iraq's technical assistance needs would go a long way in facilitating the resumption of the accession work,” he noted.
"LATEST INFO " BY BEARDED PATRIOTUSA FROM GINGER'S LIBERTY LOUNGE, 24 JAN
Bearded_PatriotUSA
Telegram post
1/24/24
Forwarded from Ginger’s LIBERTY Lounge:
(Ginger)
Latest info on the RV front:
Rod Steel and Dallas both said this week.
Bond holders to get liquid tomorrow at least 1% or more.
Tier 4 within 24-48 hours after.
1.23.24
Adding to the conversation – our friend Mr Salvage has listened to an audio (in Spanish) and informs us that as of today, Columbia has received funds – liquid, spendable funds. I’m sharing the audio in case any of our Spanish speaking family wishes to listen and share further details to help the rest of the family understand. He’s very excited that funds have been released, giving evidence that things are really happening.
Iraqi-international coordination to begin implementing the “electric bus” in Baghdad, 24 JAN
Iraqi-international coordination to begin implementing the “electric bus” in Baghdad
The Ministry of Transport has begun activating the electric bus project in Baghdad, as part of its plan to reduce traffic congestion, in coordination with the World Bank.
Director of the Ministry's Media Office, Maytham Al-Safi, explained, "The Ministry seeks to restart mass transportation projects in the capital, Baghdad, as it serves many segments of people with limited income, in addition to reducing the traffic congestion that the city witnesses on a daily basis and the environmentally polluting emissions it produces."
He pointed to "coordination in this regard with the World Bank to implement the electric bus project, or the so-called (Baghdad Bus Project), to provide support to the Ministry of Transport, specifically the General Company for Passenger Transport, for the purpose of purchasing modern electric buses that transport citizens within the capital."
He noted "the identification of mass transportation routes in Baghdad and the modern mechanisms included in the project, as well as the preparation of comprehensive studies and the employment of available resources to make the work successful in it, as well as setting a time frame for its launch," pointing out that "the project will not be limited to the capital and will include a number of governorates, Including the governorates of Dhi Qar, Salah al-Din, and Anbar, provided that its activation in the rest of the governorates will be studied successively.”
Al-Safi stated, “The Ministry has begun implementing mass transportation plans, by sending red buses to operate on the main streets in Baghdad and the governorates and determining their routes, in addition to organizing the work of public transportation garages and introducing the latest electronic systems to follow up on violations within them, in addition to rehabilitating a large number of them.” link
BRUCE UPDATE, 24 JAN
Tues. 23 Jan. 2024 Bruce, The Big Call The Big Call Universe (ibize.com) 667-770-1866, pin123456#:
According to the local bank staff members were going in today, with more going in tomorrow with a purpose to make appointments to exchange foreign currency and Zim Bonds. The numbers for Tier4a,b (Us, the Internet Group) to make appointments could come out tomorrow Wed. 24 Jan.
Coffee with MarkZ and Andy Schectman. 01/24/2024
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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...