Understanding Between the Iraq Federal Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government in 2024
The relationship between the Iraq Federal Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 2024 is complex and multifaceted, marked by ongoing negotiations and disputes over key issues such as budget shares, elections, and oil autonomy.
Political Dynamics and Governance
In 2024, Iraq continues to face challenges in governance, with a weak state structure influenced by non-democratic forces and a power system dominated by ethnic-confessional elites. Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, the prime minister since October 2022, had difficulties in finalizing his cabinet, reflecting internal political tensions. The KRG, under the leadership of Masrour Barzani, has been seeking to strengthen its economy and renew its relationship with the federal government.
Disputes Over Budget and Elections
A significant point of contention is the KRG's share of the federal budget. President of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani has met with Iraqi leaders to address this issue, aiming for a consensus on budget allocations. Additionally, the electoral process in the Kurdistan Region has been impacted by legal challenges. In 2024, the Iraqi Supreme Court ruled that the 11 seats reserved for religious and ethnic minorities in the Kurdistan Parliament are unconstitutional, leading to the postponement of regional elections scheduled for June 2024.
Oil Autonomy and Legal Rulings
Oil remains a critical component of the Iraqi economy and a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil. The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq has ordered the KRG to hand over all oil and non-oil revenues to the federal government, a move seen as another blow to the region's oil autonomy. This ruling has implications for international oil companies operating in the region, as it changes how they operate and negotiate contracts.
Security Cooperation and Interstate Relations
Security cooperation between the KRG and the federal government has improved due to the presence of fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Sinjar. However, this has also escalated conflict with Peshmerga forces affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). External threats, such as attacks by Türkiye and Iran on the PKK inside Iraqi territory, pose additional challenges to regional stability.
Conclusion
The understanding between the Iraq Federal Government and the KRG in 2024 is characterized by a series of negotiations, disputes, and legal rulings. Key areas of contention include budget shares, electoral processes, and oil autonomy. Security cooperation and external threats also play significant roles in shaping the relationship between the two governments.
"...Understanding between the Iraq Federal Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government..."
You have two entities coming together...They had a lot of turmoil in the past... Now they've come to an agreement...A huge delegation from Iraq has gone to the Kurdistan region - The highest executive authorities in Iraq, the Ministerial Council of Economics...Planning, Trade, Interior, Central Bank of Iraq, legal...finance, oil department. The whole list was immense...with their counterparts from the Kurdistan region...working it out, which reeks of national reconciliation.
..If they get National Reconciliation I can see Iraq is going to go so far. It's phenomenal...Reconciliation is historic.
Article: "The Parallel Market will be upended"
Quote: "Expected decision from the central bank will confuse markets and raise exchange rates...These decisions will lead to an increase in the dollar exchange rate" When you're talking about the parallel market you're talking about a black market...an illegal market, that's subverting the platforms to get the dollar. That's coming to an end...They're saying, parallel market...you're going to have a problem. If you don't fix it you're going to get hurt [If you're holding dollars and not dinar].
They're giving them [Iraqi citizens using the black markets] numerous warnings [to get out of the dollar].
Signing several new agreements.. What is the agenda of the Iranian President's visit to Iraq?
9/10/2024
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to arrive in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, tomorrow morning, Wednesday, on his first foreign visit since assuming his current position.
According to the visit's agenda, upon his arrival at Baghdad International Airport, Pezeshkian will head to the site of the assassination of former Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Authority, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
After that, he will head to the government palace where the official reception ceremony will take place by the President of the Republic of Iraq, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid.
In the capital, Baghdad, Zeshkian will meet with: the Iraqi President, Acting Speaker of Parliament Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Council Judge Faiq Zidane.
On Wednesday afternoon, Bezeshkian will head to the Iranian embassy to attend two meetings, the first with Iranian merchants, and also with the Iranian community residing in Iraq.
On Wednesday evening, the Iranian president will be a guest at the dinner table of the "State Administration" coalition, which consists of most of the political blocs represented in the Iraqi parliament.
On Thursday, Bezeshkian will head to the cities of Najaf and Karbala, then to Basra in the far south of Iraq, and then to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.
According to information received by Shafaq News Agency, during this visit, 10 to 15 agreements will be signed in Baghdad, most of which are economic, educational and cultural, and a security agreement may be included, but it is not confirmed.
The president is accompanied by the ministers of foreign affairs, defense, and trade, as well as a group of other Iranian ministers and officials. LINK
As far as information goes, it had been quiet and then it opened up more yesterday and today and based on this information, first of all, we haven't talked too much about Iraq; we knew that all the new rates appeared on the screens on Sunday night after they were closed and we expected all the new rates to be completed; and usually we won't see them until Monday,
but on Monday we heard that we had all the new rates in all the currencies in the banks; but today we didn't see them on RC's screens and Bruce thinks he knows why, because the rates on the banks' screens are not as high as RC's and we know it and when both the bank and RC have rates, we can see ; It has been shown that CR's are higher than banks; in fact the dinar was 3 times higher and the dong 2 times higher and I think it's just because they didn't want the high rates to be
visible. Continuing with Iraq, the CBI will disappear and the SBI Sovereign Bank of Iraq and that could happen tomorrow. We don't know anything about the site itself, but we were able to confirm a meeting on Sunday between Alak and several others and they were determining and confirming the rate which would be the SBI rate and which would be the international rate.
The idea of sovereign banks is really good, since central banks are disappearing. In the US, it is now Treasury and near Reno, Nevada, on an Indian reservation that is safe for now. That's all very good news and for Iraq to have that rate and possibly see it tomorrow.
In addition, the Iraqi dinar will be traded on the ISX, also on Forex, possibly with a new rate and on the SBI site itself. The contractual rate is extremely high and is the same as the selling rate of a barrel of oil, so this is good and of course it is subject to change and they will offer those of us who have dinars the contractual rate for the dinar .
What situation do we find ourselves in over time? A well-known person in the community says that it is very possible that it will be tomorrow or Thursday, and that is very good news. The other information is that the RC leader would have received an email from a certain person in the ENTIRE RC east of the Big River and this leader had to send those emails.
That doesn't mean they are the only ones and ALL RC will have the green light from Treasury, and if nothing changes, it should have been sent tonight. What about notifications? To T4B? So, including the Admirals groups, so here's the thing: those of us in T4B and A, should be notified tonight or tomorrow. And the exchanges could begin tomorrow and/or Thursday. We won't know until we receive the emails.
Also, the SS servers have been down for the last five days and we believe it's to connect to Starlink, which may or may not include that increase in SS, so the good news is that they were down after last Wednesday, and they were down for five days and they should be back up and running tonight for payments tomorrow September 11th so we have a chance and ALL of this could start on September 11th so everyone who is aware and KNOWS it would be a very interesting time .
So there's a good chance that this starts tomorrow and the trades happen on or before Thursday and that whatever information Bruce has for us tonight, other than talking now about Sue and that GW PACKAGE, he's really happy with all the information. information we have received from Bruce tonight; I'm sure you'll thank your entire team:
Sue, Bob, GCK, Pastor Scott, Jeannie, Larry, and of course all the faithful listeners around the world. And since this sounds like that again, IT COULD BE THE LAST BIG REGULAR CALL. I'm sure you will be praying the call, with a very special prayer, so please join Bruce in that prayer, because as always, our prayers are so powerful and so important that we all join together to let our hearts and prayers be seen by Heaven.
Bruce is just saying that at RC Zim Holders we will ONLY get a new satellite phone, and the mistake is that we also thought we would get a laptop and apparently now that won't be a given, just the phone.
Gem Finch, [09/11/2024 12:35 PM]
The cleanup continues throughout the country so there should be no problems with the uprisings and regarding NESARA and Gesara, the latest information was that that would be about a week to a week and a half from now. So, all the rest and recovery and the Debt Jubilee, which are part of NESARA and Gesara, so everyone is covered.
TRANSLATION IN SPANISH
SOLO INTEL
*¿DÓNDE ESTAMOS AHORA?*
Gem Finch, [09/11/2024 12:35 PM]
En lo que respecta a la información, había estado tranquilo y luego se abrió más ayer y hoy y, en base a esta información, en primer lugar, no hemos hablado demasiado de Irak; sabíamos que todas las nuevas tasas aparecieron en las pantallas el domingo por la noche después de estar cerradas y esperábamos que todas las nuevas tasas se completaran; y, por lo general, no las veremos hasta el lunes, pero el lunes escuchamos que teníamos todas las nuevas tasas en todas las monedas en los bancos; pero hoy no las vimos en las pantallas de RC y Bruce cree que sabe por qué, porque las tasas en las pantallas de los bancos no son tan altas como las de RC y lo sabemos y cuando tanto el banco como RC tienen tasas, podemos ver; se ha demostrado que las de RC son más altas que los bancos; de hecho, el dinar era 3 veces más alto y el dong 2 veces más alto y creo que es solo porque no querían que las altas tasas fueran
visibles. Continuando con Irak, el CBI desaparecerá y el SBI Sovereign Bank of Iraq y eso podría suceder mañana. No sabemos nada sobre el sitio en sí, pero pudimos confirmar una reunión el domingo entre Alak y varios otros y estaban determinando y confirmando la tasa que sería la tasa SBI y que sería la tasa internacional.
La idea de los bancos soberanos es realmente buena, ya que los bancos centrales están desapareciendo. En los EE. UU., ahora es el Tesoro y cerca de Reno, Nevada, en una reserva india que es segura por ahora. Todas esas son muy buenas noticias y para Irak tener esa tasa y posiblemente verla mañana.
Además, el dinar iraquí se comercializará en la ISX, también en Forex, posiblemente con una nueva tasa y en el propio sitio SBI. La tasa contractual es extremadamente alta y es la misma que la tasa de venta de un barril de petróleo, por lo que esto es bueno y, por supuesto, está sujeto a cambios y nos ofrecerán a los que tenemos dinares la tasa contractual para el dinar.
¿En qué situación nos encontramos con el tiempo? Una persona conocida en la comunidad dice que es muy posible que sea mañana o jueves, y eso es una muy buena noticia. La otra información es que el líder del RC habría recibido un correo electrónico de una persona determinada de TODO el RC al este del río Big River y este líder tenía que enviar esos correos electrónicos. Eso no significa que sean los únicos y TODO el RC tendrá luz verde del Tesoro, y si nada cambia, debería haberse enviado esta noche. ¿Qué pasa con las notificaciones? ¿A T4B? Entonces, incluidos los grupos de Admirals, así que aquí está la cuestión: aquellos de nosotros en T4B y A, deberíamos ser notificados esta noche o mañana. Y los intercambios podrían comenzar mañana y/o el jueves. No lo sabremos hasta que recibamos los correos electrónicos.
Además, los servidores de SS estuvieron inactivos durante los últimos cinco días y creemos que es para conectarnos a Starlink, lo que puede incluir o no ese aumento en SS, así que la buena noticia es que estuvieron inactivos después del miércoles pasado,
y estuvieron inactivos durante cinco días y deberían volver a funcionar esta noche para los pagos mañana 11 de septiembre, por lo que tenemos la posibilidad y TODO esto podría comenzar el 11 de septiembre, así que todos los que están al tanto y SABEN que sería un momento muy interesante.
Por lo tanto, existe una gran posibilidad de que esto comience mañana y los intercambios el jueves o antes y que toda la información que Bruce tiene para nosotros esta noche, aparte de hablar ahora sobre Sue y ese PAQUETE GW, esté realmente feliz con toda la información que hemos recibido de Bruce esta noche; estoy seguro de que agradecerá a todo su equipo: Sue, Bob, GCK, el pastor Scott, Jeannie, Larry y, por supuesto, a todos los fieles oyentes de todo el mundo. Y como esto suena de nuevo así,
PODRÍA SER EL ÚLTIMO GRAN LLAMADO REGULAR. Estoy seguro de que estará rezando el llamado, con una oración muy especial, así que por favor, únanse a Bruce en esa oración, porque como siempre, nuestras oraciones son tan poderosas y tan importantes que todos nos unimos para dejar que nuestros corazones y oraciones sean vistos por el Cielo.
Bruce solo está diciendo que en el RC Zim Holders SOLO recibiremos un nuevo teléfono satelital, y el error es que también pensamos que recibiríamos una computadora portátil y, aparentemente, ahora eso no será un hecho, solo el teléfono.
Gem Finch, [09/11/2024 12:35 PM]
La limpieza continúa en todo el país, por lo que no debería haber problemas con los levantamientos y con respecto a Nesara y Gesara, la última información fue que eso sería en aproximadamente una semana a una semana y media a partir de ahora. Entonces, todo el descanso y la recuperación y el Jubileo de la deuda, que son parte de Nesara y Gesara, por lo que todo el mundo está cubierto.
The Dual Exchange Rate System in Iraq and Its Connection to Corruption
Iraq's dual exchange rate system, characterized by an official rate set by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) and a parallel market rate, has been a significant factor in the country's ongoing economic challenges. This system creates a fertile ground for corruption, as the disparity between the two rates can be exploited for personal gain, often by those with political connections or access to privileged information.
The dual exchange rate system operates in a way that allows individuals or entities with access to the official rate to buy US dollars at a cheaper price and then sell them at the higher market rate, pocketing the difference. This arbitrage opportunity, exacerbated by the volatility and depreciation of the Iraqi Dinar (IQD), has become a breeding ground for illicit activities, including money laundering, smuggling, and embezzlement.
Corruption in the Dual Rate System
Access to the Official Rate
Individuals and companies with connections to the government or the CBI often gain preferential access to the official exchange rate. This access can be used to acquire US dollars at the lower official rate and then sell them on the parallel market at a higher rate, a practice known as "dollar flipping".
The significant markup between the two rates can result in substantial profits, often at the expense of the Iraqi economy and the public.
Smuggling and Illicit Transactions
The dual rate system has also facilitated the smuggling of dollars out of Iraq, particularly to neighboring countries like Iran, to avoid sanctions or for other illicit purposes. This activity not only depletes Iraq's foreign currency reserves but also contributes to the volatility of the IQD and undermines the effectiveness of the government's anti-corruption efforts.
Embezzlement and Misuse of Public Funds
The depreciation of the IQD following the implementation of global procedural requirements for cross-border payments by the CBI in mid-November 2022 led to a significant supply-demand mismatch for US dollars, causing the market price of the IQD to depreciate. This situation was further exacerbated by the embezzlement of 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars (about $2.5 billion) from the General Commission of Taxes’ bank accounts, illustrating how corruption and mismanagement of public funds can be closely tied to the dual exchange rate system.
Anti-Corruption Efforts and the Dual Rate System
The Iraqi government and the CBI have introduced a series of measures aimed at creating domestic demand for the IQD and accelerating the adoption of banking in the Iraqi economy. These measures are crucial steps toward de-dollarization and reducing the dominance of cash transactions that facilitate corruption. However, given the entrenched nature of corruption within Iraq's economic and political systems, the full effectiveness of these reforms is likely to take several years to materialize.
Conclusion
Iraq's dual exchange rate system has become a significant enabler of corruption, providing opportunities for those with access to the official rate to benefit at the expense of the broader economy and society. Addressing this issue requires not only economic reforms but also a robust anti-corruption strategy that targets the root causes of corruption within Iraq's political and economic structures.