Iraq News: Al-Kadhimi’s political advisor was sentenced to one year in prison.
The leaders of the armed factions and the “coordination framework” associated with them did not express any position, nor did they issue any comment regarding the upcoming visit, but a government official said that “they are forced to accept,” indicating that “ The factions’ silencecame after Sudanese pledged to make the issue of removing American forces a priority during his visit to Washington.
The official, who refused to reveal his identity, confirmed that the delegation accompanying the Sudanese would be ministerial and specific, in reference to conditional approval from the US State Department for the delegation accompanying the president.
Al-Sudani had received a similar invitation to visit Washington in September of last year 2023, a year after the formation of his government, but it did not take place.
The visit comes at a time when Baghdad and Washington are holding joint talks to remove the international coalition forces, and the first round of bilateral dialogue held in Baghdad, on January 27, led to an agreement to form a joint military committee to review the coalition’s mission, end it, and move to bilateral security relations. The committee began its work on February 11 of last year.
The talks came due to pressure on the Sudanese government from the Iraqi armed factions allied with Iran and the political parties associated with them, as they demanded the removal of international coalition forces from Iraq, following Washington’s implementation of retaliatory strikes in Iraq that led to the assassination of prominent leaders in those factions.
ISMAIK: THE SOLUTION TO THE DOLLAR CRISIS IN IRAQ IS “VERY SIMPLE”
The economic expert, Hassan Ismaik, confirmed that the solution to the crisis of the high exchange rates of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar is very simple.
Ismaik said in an interview with Al-Maalouma, “The foreign cash reserves that the Central Bank of Iraq owns are what preserve the value of the Iraqi currency, and because Iraq does not receive money except government money, and the private sector smuggles its money abroad.”
He added, “The Iraqi citizen does not trust the banking system in his country,” which means that there is a defect that must be fixed.
Ismaik believes that “the solution is by placing the money obtained from the sale of crude oil, the main source of the Iraqi economy, as deposits in the central bank and attracting the hoarded fundsin the homes of Iraqis and also attracting the money of investors abroad, the private sector and investment companies.”
Ismaik continued, “The success of the solution is linked to Iraq’s development of the banking sector systems and it being an open and not closed system. Reinforcing his vision with leading regional models such as the Arab Gulf countries.”
He pointed out that “there is enormous money coming from the people and the private sector, as well as investment companies.”
He added that “Iraq only needs development in the banking sector system, clarity in this system and not being closed, because when we say it is forbidden to transfer dollars, and it is forbidden to buy with dollars, and it is forbidden to exchange for dollars, your value will immediately lose and decline, and the currency will fall.”
Ismaik stressed that “ the dollar crisis ends when there is a solid banking system, as there is huge amounts of money with the people in their homes, and if this money goes to… Banks will change the equation, and the money of Iraq is Abroad will range, at a minimum, between 200-300 billion in deposits in banks.”
Since the end of the year 2022, Iraq has been facing a crisis in the exchange rate of the dinar against the dollar, after the United States took a number of measures to restrict the use of… The dollar is in Iraq and its possession is limited to certain parties, as the exchange rate is witnessing fluctuations and instability despite the measures taken by the Iraqi government and the Central Bank to control the exchange rate.
The dollar crisis has been accompanied by variation in the methods of its solutions and treatment, especially among those who see it as a crisis that expresses structural imbalances in the system. Iraqi monetary policy, and among those who believe that resolving it requires only responding to it in an intelligent manner.
The Upcoming Meeting Between Baghdad And Washington... Hopes For Quick Solutions To Save The Banking Sector From Collapse
Samir Al-Nusairi Economy News – Baghdad The White House announced that the anticipated and important visit of Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani to the United States of America and the meeting with the American administration has been set for next April 15.
Makes it very important, in this critical and complex stage that Iraq is going through, that the agenda include meetings and negotiations with the leaders of the American administration, the Treasury Department, and the Federal Reserve, to determine the next and clear paths for bilateral economic relations between the two friendly countries, which have broad relations in all fields and the topics of the visit?
We believe that one of the important files that will be included in the discussions and negotiations, with the participation of the Central Bank and the Association of Iraqi Private Banks, is the issue of financial and banking reform, protecting the Iraqi banking sector from collapse after the issuance of sanctions and restrictions by depriving 50% of the total private banking sector from dealing in the US dollar, which is the main foreign currency for banking and commercial transactions.
In Iraq and international banking relations for a long time, they must be informed by the American administration and the Ministry of A that continuing to deal with the Iraqi banking system in this exclusionary manner and without explaining the real reasons for the sanctions, which date back to activities of previous years, and that the American officials who issued the sanctions on 28 Iraqi private banks praise the safety of transfers. Foreign Affairs for the purposes of covering private sector imports in 2023 since the implementation of the electronic platform.
This means that the government and the Central Bank are proceeding in coordination and in great cooperation with the US Treasury and the global financial system in accordance with the banking and financial reform strategy adopted by the government in the governmental curriculum and with high discipline in accordance with international standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
These efforts have actually borne fruit in achieving fruitful economic results after the agreements with the American Bank, the US Federal Reserve and some reputable international banks in 2023 and their approval as correspondent banks for some of our banks, and more than 40 accounts were opened for them in these banks.
Therefore, we believe that the inputs and outputs of this important visit must convince the American side to reconsider the sanctions imposed, especially since all the sanctioned banks are currently subject to audit by K2 International, and this confirms the good faith of the banks that the reasons for the deprivation of dealing in the US dollar were not serious errors and can be overcome if they exist. With joint cooperation between the two parties.
The importance of restoring activity and protecting the private banking system and ensuring the results of its work through the electronic platform for the year 2023, which has confirmed its safety and transparency, and I believe that not reaching quick solutions to this issue will lead to confusion in the commercial and banking market and will affect ration card supplies, which are the primary food source for a large segment of the population.
The Iraqi people, the weakening of the plans and procedures of the Central Bank and the government in financial and banking reform, the lack of control over the stability of the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar, and the damage to the national economy, which World Bank reports confirm that the economy moved during the Sudanese government from fragility to recovery.
The continued sponsorship and support of the United States of America for Iraq as a friendly country requires it to protect the Iraqi economy and the banking sector from collapse in these difficult circumstances that Iraq, the regional countries and the world are going through. We hope that the discussions on the banking file in Washington will result in its return to practicing all its local and international banking activities.
SUDANESE MEETS WITH THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND THE GOVERNOR OF THE CENTRAL BANK AND TAKES 3 DECISIONS
March 14 22:30
Information / Baghdad
On Thursday, Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani met with the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Central Bank and subsequently took 3 decisions related to loans and debts.
The Prime Minister’s Media Office stated in a statement received by Al-Maalouma, that “Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani chaired a meeting that included the Minister of Finance, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, and a number of relevant advisors, in the presence of the Director General of the Trade Bank of Iraq.”
He added, “The meeting discussed a number of issues related to the government banking sector, related to government debts and non-performing private sector loans, and took a number of decisions regarding them, which were the following:
1-The Ministry of Finance begins paying government debts to the Trade Bank of Iraq.
2- Preparing a plan to be presented to the Council of Ministers regarding the repayment of troubled loans owed by the private sector to government banks, including the Trade Bank of Iraq.
3- Forming a joint committee to study expired credits; In order to return its funds to the public treasury.
Before Sudanese's Visit To Washington, The Factions Are Silent, The Framework Is Waiting, And Parliament Is Waiting For The Implementation Of Its Decision
Reports | 01:45 - 03/24/2024 Mawazine News – Baghdad The Iraqi armed factions remained silent regarding the visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani to Washington, which was scheduled for mid-April, amid doubts about the possibility of resolving the issue of ending the role of the international coalition in Iraq during the visit, while Iraqi sources confirmed that Al-Sudani stressed He stressed the priority of this file during his upcoming visit.
Yesterday, Friday, the White House announced that US President Joe Biden will meet with Sudanese at the White House, next April 15, and that they will reaffirm their commitment to the Strategic Framework Agreement, and will work to deepen their common vision for a safe, sovereign, prosperous Iraq that is fully integrated into the broader region, while Al-Sudani's office confirmed that the visit would discuss the post-international coalition phase, without further clarification.
The visit’s program did not appear to be identical, according to the two official statements regarding the international coalition file, which reinforces the factions’ doubts about Washington’s seriousness in ending the coalition’s role in Iraq, especially since American officials had previously confirmed that Baghdad did not request ending the coalition’s role.
The Iraqi government reassured those factions that the issue of ending the coalition’s presence would be among the topics of the visit, and the advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Hussein Allawi, said in a press statement yesterday, Saturday, that “in addition to the data of the dialogues of the Supreme Military Committee, the expected meeting of the Iraqi Prime Minister with the President "A timetable will be determined on the basis of which the American coalition forces will withdraw."
He added, "The strategic partnership between the Iraqi government and the United States proceeds within the framework of the Strategic Framework Agreement that Parliament voted on during the past years," stressing that "Al-Sudani took a decision to end the tasks of the international coalition, and this decision made the Iraqi-American Supreme Military Committee conduct a dialogue between Iraq and representatives The international coalition countries, to set a timetable,
and these dialogues are continuing by the committee and go in the direction of assessing the threat of ISIS and the capabilities of the Iraqi armed forces, and in return, they will set a timetable based on these data on the one hand, and on the basis of the meeting between the Prime Minister and Biden.
