AL-MASHHADANI STRESSES THE IMPORTANCE OF EXPANDING INVESTMENT HORIZONS IN IRAQ.
Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani held an expanded meeting today, Tuesday (April 8, 2025), with the head and members of the Independent High Electoral Commission, in the presence of a number of Sunni bloc leaders, to discuss ongoing preparations for the upcoming electoral process.
According to a statement from his media office, received by Baghdad Today, Al-Mashhadani stressed during the meeting the need for concerted national efforts to ensure the integrity and transparency of the elections, emphasizing the importance of creating a safe environment and strengthening confidence in democratic institutions.
The commission presented a detailed presentation on technical and administrative procedures, including updating the voter registry, distributing biometric cards, and securing polling stations. Commission officials noted particular challenges in liberated areas, calling for greater government support to facilitate their work.
For their part, Sunni bloc leaders expressed their full support for the commission, calling for effective guarantees to prevent any manipulation or interference that could affect the election results. They emphasized the need for effective participation by all components to ensure fair representation.
Iraq doesn't have a whole lot of purchasing power at 1310.
But they have an expectation of purchasing power...The deletion of the zeros project is definitely on their minds, especially the tribal leaders in Iraq, which includes politicians.
They're concerned about the deletion of the zeros project but they're fully aware of it and that's where the purchasing power is.
The average guy on the street doesn't have a whole of dinars. They want purchasing power because they want prices to come down so they can afford to live.
The wealthy, tribal leaders perhaps, have a lot of cash and they put that cash in the banks. They think they could get more money in and out of the country...Those folks over there are concerned about their purchasing power.
AL-NUSAIRI CONFIRMS THAT THE COMPREHENSIVE BANKING REFORM PROJECT ANNOUNCED BY THE CENTRAL BANK WILL YIELD PROMISING RESULTS.
Economic and banking advisor Samir Al-Nusairi confirmed that the banking reform project announced by the Central Bank is consistent with the methodology included and adopted in the government program and the Central Bank’s third strategy for the years 2023 and 2024.
It will yield promising results in cooperation with global consulting firms Ernst & Young, K2, and Oliver Wyman to build a transparent information base for comprehensive reform, starting with the banking sector as the first essential link in the economy. Without a sound, solid, and modern banking sector, a strong and robust national economy cannot be built.
Al-Nusairi pointed out that among the important initial results achieved is the commencement of the completion of the actual implementation of the plans drawn up during 2025 and 2026 for comprehensive reform, which are summarized in enhancing financial inclusion and achieving stimulating and sustainable returns for shareholders and investors, and the government and the Central Bank leading projects aimed at modernizing the private banking sector and meeting the needs of the transition to a rapidly growing national economy, creating a fair competitive environment in the banking market, and raising the level of private banks’ ability to confront risks and protect depositors and creditors, thus restoring confidence in the banking sector in general,
as well as expanding digital transformation procedures, expanding and diversifying banking services and products, and complying with international standards.
Al-Nusairi pointed out that the above objectives, which were discussed yesterday at the Banking Reform Conference, are established as primary and secondary objectives in the Central Bank’s third strategy for the years 2024-2026, and that work is being done on them with a steady, systematic approach, and that the objectives will be achieved in cooperation with Oliver and Eman at an accelerated pace in the years 2025 and 2026.
It is clear that the Central Bank, in cooperation with relevant authorities, will focus on the following: sharing with the private banking sector detailed criteria and timelines for implementing the reform process, activating support channels, and holding workshops to provide technical assistance. The Central Bank of Iraq is fully committed to achieving this transformation by working closely with all relevant stakeholders to pave the way for a strong, resilient, modern, and inclusive financial and banking system.
Got a lot of questions about Iraq stock exchange. Here's what you need to know to open a account. As a Non Iraqi Investors
The ISX, established in 2004, has grown significantly, listing major companies in banking, telecom, and industry. As a publicly traded company with foreign investor interest foreigners have been allowed to trade on the ISX since 2007, it must have an ISIN for international clearing and settlement.
The Iraq Securities Commission, under Law No. 74 of 2004, mandates compliance with global standards to attract foreign investment, which includes assigning ISINs to listed securities. This applies to both the main market and OTC platforms.
To open a brokages account. Here's The details - Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) Trading Instructions for Non Iraqi Investors
US FEARS THE POPULAR MOBILIZATION LAW… “IT THREATENS WASHINGTON’S INTERESTS AND CREATES A NEW REVOLUTIONARY GUARD.”
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy called on the US administration, headed by Donald Trump, to send a “calm and firm” message to the Iraqi government regarding the risks of passing a new law related to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), warning that this legislation would transform the PMF into an entity similar to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
The institute stated in a report translated by Shafaq News Agency that “the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have been considered a threat to US national security interests and Iraqi civilians for years,” noting that “US-designated terrorists hold senior leadership positions within the PMF, including the head of the organization and the chief of staff, exploiting this institutional structure to secure government salaries for tens of thousands of militia members affiliated with designated terrorist groups such as Kata’ib Hezbollah and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq.”
He considered that “these practices represent blatant manipulation,” noting that “Baghdad is currently studying two legislative projects that could grant the Popular Mobilization Forces greater legitimacy as a national security institution. The first is the Popular Mobilization Forces Service and Retirement Law, which the report described as internally aiming to remove leaders of rival militias. The second, and more important, is the amended Popular Mobilization Forces Authority Law, which restructures the Mobilization Forces within a formal framework resembling a ministerial institution.”
According to the report, passing the new law would consolidate the Popular Mobilization Forces, which number approximately 238,000 members, as a parallel armed force with powers at the local and regional levels. The report emphasized that “the legislation will consolidate the Popular Mobilization Forces’ status as a permanent structure within the Iraqi security sector, not as an emergency force, but rather as a ministry-like institution that would be difficult to reform or dissolve later.”
He also warned that the draft law explicitly refers to the Popular Mobilization Forces as the “guarantor of the political system,” led by Shiite factions since 2003, similar to the role of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. This weakens the standing and prestige of the Iraqi armed forces and grants the militias broad powers that could include “militarizing the political process, from candidate registration to voting and government formation.”
The report also warned that the legislation could encourage militias to repeat the violence against demonstrators and civil society organizations, as occurred during the 2019 protests, it said.
He called on the Trump administration to act quickly and convey its clear objections to officials in Baghdad, via direct messages to the President, Prime Minister, and Speaker of Parliament, to prevent the bill from being referred to the House of Representatives for ratification. He noted that such a step would not require a significant American effort, but rather a “firm signal behind the scenes.”
He pointed out that the current tense regional situation presents Washington with a powerful opportunity to exert pressure, as the United States is redeploying its forces extensively, while Iraqi militias are keen to remain outside the US targeting circle. This provides Washington with leverage that must be used wisely to prevent “the birth of a new Revolutionary Guard in the heart of the region,” as the report put it.
According to the report, the institute called on decision-makers in the White House and the US embassy in Baghdad to urgently reinforce this message and shift from quiet pressure tools to more vocal ones, including imposing sanctions on the Popular Mobilization Forces as a whole, as Washington previously did with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
He explained that “these sanctions will have a broad financial impact within the Iraqi financial system, given that the Popular Mobilization Forces receive their salaries from the Iraqi government.”
The report continued, stating that “early US action to block this legislation would demonstrate the Trump administration’s awareness of the delicate developments in Iraq and its ability to deter Iranian-backed groups without waiting for a military escalation via drones or kidnappings and killings of Americans.”
The report concluded with a recommendation not to be satisfied with warnings, but to take concrete steps, such as imposing immediate sanctions on the General Engineer Company, the economic wing of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which the report likened to the Khatam al-Anbiya Foundation, the economic conglomerate affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has long been subject to international sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations.
