Iraq Economic News and Points to Ponder Sunday Afternoon 3-23-2024
Tlm724 Administrator Bondlady’s Corner
The Prime Minister’s Advisor Announces The Decline In The Effects Of The Parallel Market And The Decline In Its Activity
Economy News – Baghdad The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Saleh, announced on Sunday the decline in the effects of the parallel market and the decline in its activity, while revealing the reasons for the decline in the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar, and the importance of monetary policy and its imposition of a climate of stability at the general level.
Saleh said, in a statement reported by the official news agency and seen by Al-Iqtisad News, that “economic policy played a major role in imposing a climate of stability in the general level of dollar exchange rates,” indicating that “the state of superiority of the official exchange market in financing Iraq’s foreign trade caused… With the decline in the effects of the parallel market and the decline in its illegal activities.”
He pointed out that “the decline in parallel market rates in favor of the official exchange rate is a tangible success in the cohesion of the country’s economic policy in its three aspects: financial, monetary and commercial,” pointing out that “the work and high coordination of policies led to providing an incubator of stability embodied in relative price calm and the containment of seasonal price fluctuations.” “For materials in high demand, specifically the provision of basic goods related to consumption and daily living for citizens.”
He noted “the importance of using the customs policy, which was represented by (reducing customs tariffs and diversifying imports without quantitative limits for basic and necessary goods) as part of the performance of the financial policy in providing price stability and ensuring the supply of materials, food and essential goods, and production supplies at the official exchange rate and in accordance with the requirements of the national economy.”
In addition to the high stability in bank financing for foreign trade for the private sector, which began to adopt the stable official exchange rates of 1,320 dinars per dollar in a wide and more flexible manner through the regularity and stability of financing operations.
He pointed out that “the demand for foreign currency for the purposes of financing the country’s foreign trade, on the part of the private sector, is today backed by large foreign currency reserves, which are the highest in the country’s history, reaching nearly 111 billion dollars today.”
He continued, “These high foreign currency reserves reflect the country’s annual trade efficiency of more than 16 months of import at least in light of the global standard for the commercial efficiency of foreign reserves, which is set at only about three months, and that the ability of these reserves to cover the exported currency is considered complete coverage in foreign exchange, which is an indicator of stability.” Contains any existing or anticipated adverse price fluctuations.
– https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=41804
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.
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.
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’ silence came 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.
