Their words not mine. Please check it out. I clipped out the most interesting part for you.
6. Financial Sector
FOREIGN EXCHANGE AND REMITTANCES
Foreign Exchange
The currency of Iraq is the dinar (IQD). The Central Bank of Iraq devalued the IQD, by 22.7 percent at the end of Dec 2020, to avoid a liquidity crisis. This came as part of the reform plan put in place by the Prime Minister after the country was simultaneously impacted by COVID -19 and the significant drop in oil prices at that time.
Iraqi authorities confirm that in practice, there are no restrictions on current and capital transactions involving currency exchange if valid documentation supports underlying transactions. The Investment Law allows investors to repatriate capital brought into Iraq, along with proceeds. Funds can be associated with any form of investment and freely converted into any world currency. The Investment Law also allows investors to maintain accounts at banks licensed to operate in Iraq and transfer capital inside or outside of the country.
The GOI’s monetary policy since 2003 has focused on ensuring price stability primarily by maintaining a de facto peg between the IQD and the U.S. dollar, while seeking exchange rate predictability by supplying U.S. dollars to the Iraqi market. In December 2020, the GOI announced that it would officially devalue the dinar’s peg to the U.S. dollar by 22 percent. Banks may engage in spot transactions in any currency; however, they are not allowed to engage in forward transactions in Iraqi dinars for speculative purposes. There are no taxes or subsidies on purchases or sales of foreign exchange.
Question: "The holiday is officially over was there any news about the Iraqi 2024 budget published in their gazette today?"
NO...BUT REMEMBER THEY OFFICIALLY GO BACK TO WORK TOMORROW [Sunday] PER SUDANI ACCORDING TO WHAT WAS IN AN ARTICLE. SO WE DON'T KNOW IF THE MOJ EVEN WORKED TODAY [Saturday].
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KTFA:
Clare: National Bank of Iraq
@NBIraq: بخطوات بسيطة هسه تكدر تودع فلوسك من خلال اجهزة الصراف الآلي بكل سهولة
TRANSLATION: With simple steps, you can now deposit your money through ATMs with ease
Ryan1216: We have to be EXTREMELY CLOSE to a rate change now that money can be deposited into ATM’s. IMO. What do you think Clare?
Clare: IMO, WE ARE EXTREMELY CLOSE. THE LAST FEW UB2B'S SHOW THAT. DID YOU CATCH WHAT EDDIE'S FRIEND SAID LAST NIGHT? "AT ANY MOMENT" IT COULD BE POSSIBLE.
Clare: KBR wins $46m Contract to Support Sustainable Development in Iraq
19th June 2024 By John Lee.
American engineering firm KBR has announced that it has been awarded a five-year contract, with options, to support the Iraqi government's visionary infrastructure and future energy ambitions, including the delivery of megaprojects and sustainable development.
Under the terms of the $46 million contract, KBR will provide its differentiated advisory and consultancy capabilities to the Iraqi Government's Ministry of Planning, with a focus on creating an effective program environment to support successful delivery of strategic megaprojects.
Focus areas of KBR expertise supporting the ministry, who interface with all ministries and formations in the Iraqi government, will include economic planning, strategy development, feasibility studies, technical reviews and large-scale project management.
This contract, which encompasses a comprehensive range of planning and development services, will further elevate the significant role KBR is playing in the development of Iraq's energy sector - working closely with various ministries to identify, design and implement critical projects aimed at enhancing the country's economic and social landscape.
KBR's focus on innovation and sustainability will be integral to delivering the ambitious development plans, aligning with Iraq's long-term vision for growth and environmental stewardship.
Jay Ibrahim, President of KBR Sustainable Technology Solutions, said:
"This is a great example of KBR utilizing its growing global capabilities to support regeneration and sustainable growth of a nation. We are proud to further our partnerships in country, where we are already helping make our customers' ambitious plans a reality. With our deep expertise in engineering and energy solutions, KBR is well positioned to help our valued customers meet their energy security and sustainability objectives."
KBR will support delivery from its global locations, in addition to expanding its well-established footprint in country through the creation of an operational office in Baghdad and the wider prospect of building an engineering design center to enhance the skills of Iraqi engineers. LINK
BuckEyeTree: More good news for Iraq with KBR, an American company, establishing an operational office in Baghdad.
Also, the ATM tutorial about ability to make deposits into the ATMs is not only a convenience for Iraqis, but IMO another way for the CBI to collect 3 zero notes that may be in the dinar mattresses.
IMO in the coming days, Iraqis will be able to withdraw the lower notes as soon as they are released with new rate. Just waiting whatever comes next.
The American administration: We are tired of the Middle East… and the priority is elsewhere
The American administration has begun to show signs of “fatigue” with the Middle East, not because the Middle East is witnessing huge challenges, but because the world is witnessing many huge challenges.
American officials stressed that “it is necessary to look first at American foreign policy priorities and American national security priorities.” One American official confirmed that the current administration, like the previous administration of Donald Trump, “considers that the most important and greatest challenges are the rising power of China and the Russian threat that we are now seeing in Eastern Europe.”
The Americans describe the escalating Chinese challenge in serious terms. For them, China is a huge economic power, carries out commercial activities that are unacceptable according to international legal rules, controls many sources of raw materials, and China is building a rapidly powerful and dangerous military force, especially a nuclear arsenal, and what is worse for the Americans. It threatens to use this diverse economic and military power to impose a political reality, such as occupying Taiwan or controlling vital straits.
As for Russia, in the eyes of the Americans, it has violated many red lines. Launching an “attack” on a neighboring country, and attempting to “overthrow” the Ukrainian state by military force, is an expression of this danger that threatens the independence of neighboring countries, and threatens “free” Europe after it has been liberated from control. Communism 30 years ago.
Consumption of American power
These two dangers, the Chinese and the Russians, consume a lot of American military and diplomatic capabilities. When talking about these two dangers, the Russian and the Chinese, American officials point out that the United States is working with the countries of the Pacific Ocean and with the countries of Europe and the group of industrialized countries to stop the escalation of these risks, but this cooperation It is not a substitute for the American presence, especially the military presence.
During the past few years, the United States was forced to deploy two aircraft carriers in East Asia, and with these carriers, dozens of American warships and thousands of American soldiers. The United States was also forced to send huge quantities of weapons and ammunition to Europe to confront the Russian advance and protect NATO’s eastern front.
Americans’ weapons stocks reached low levels in 2023, and the world map was full of American forces when the October 7 attack occurred.
Directing forces to the Middle East
With this attack, the United States was forced to direct squadrons of air forces to the Middle East. It also directed an aircraft carrier from the Pacific Ocean to the Middle East, and American military power reached the limits of “full use” at the beginning of the year 2024.
The Americans succeeded in putting an end to the escalation, and they worked extremely hard to prevent the spread of clashes in Iraq and Syria. They were working through contact with Iran to stop the Houthi attacks and to stop the clashes on the Lebanese-Israeli border, but these efforts failed, and worse happened when the Israelis were killed. A senior official in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Damascus, and Iran responded by bombing Israeli territory.
One of the American officials said when speaking to Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath: “You must understand that our priority is elsewhere,” and he continued, “The United States is a huge power, that’s for sure, but the world is also a huge theater,” and he warned with some severity. He pointed out that “the United States’ priority is China and Russia, not the Middle East.”
We should not understand from the words of this American official that the Middle East is not important to Washington. Rather, the American administration stressed that the Middle East is an essential part of America’s vital interests, and the administration of current US President Joe Biden wants to establish strong relations with the countries of this region, “but we do not We want to do the job alone,” according to the American official.
Americans need to restore their military, and even diplomatic, capabilities to the Pacific region, and for regional parties to bear the direct burden of confronting the risks.
The dangers of the region are many
The Americans list a list of risks, starting with the ongoing Iranian threat, passing through the Houthis and the protection of the strategic straits, all the way to Syria and Iraq and confronting ISIS, but American officials talk about a major lack of countries in the region in possessing the necessary equipment, especially naval vessels and their radars, and marine missile defense systems, They also point to a severe lack of training in the use of the defense equipment and systems available in these countries.
By talking to American officials, the listener gets the impression that the Americans are tired, and the soldiers deployed in the region are tired, and they want an alternative in a quick time to change the map of their deployment in the Middle East, reduce American forces in this region, give the soldiers and the American treasury a break, and then return to the “most important theater.” “
Article: "Kurdistan Federation: Legislating the oil and gas law will resolve the disputes between Baghdad and Erbil" ...There it is again in articles. Do we need the Oil and Gas law referendum passed prior to the Reinstatement? We were told we do. Let’s see what happens.
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Just look at all the progress made just since December 2022 when Iraq announced they were finally entirely out of Chapter VII. And now the spigot is wide open... the final issues preventing the reinstatement are being dealt with one by one...It is June already and this month is proving to be a very significant month again...my contact in the CBI told me there is a very high probability that we would see the currency swap out in this month of June and so we watch and wait.
Do they have to RV to make the budget work? If you take what the prime minister told us about the dropping of the zeros...in an April 2023 article, we can see that taking the 1320 rate and dropping the 3 zeros makes it $1.32. If we take the 6.5 billions dinars allocated for the new pipeline construction it is actually about $4.9 billion dollars. If we divide 6.5 / 4.9 we get 1.32...is this a coincidence? Can you see now why I am so excited...WOW! WOW1 WOW! ...Many believe it is not coincidental and so I agree...Do they need the change in rate to build the pipeline? What about the other projects too like the 7 new refineries? ...if it does they will have to get their act in gear real soon, as they also told us they plan to begin this new pipeline now NOT in 2025.
The economist, Abdul Rahman Al-Mashdani, preferred to keep the dollar exchange rates within their current rates.
Al-Mashhadani {Euphrates News} explained that: “The launch of the 2024 budget financial amounts will increase the spending demand in the market, knowing that the operational spending of fixed wages and salaries and their impact will be constant.”
He added, “The investment budget is important because the projects require homemade and imported materials.”
Al-Mashhadani, indicated that “any direction of home-made materials such as construction industries such as steel, cement, sand, wood, etc., which have led to their rise locally and so on requirements go to keep exchange rates within their rates and not fall.”
Sale prices in banking shops in local markets in Baghdad today recorded 148,000 dinars for $100, while the purchase was 146,000 dinars for $100.
