Iraqi News Highlights Tuesday Afternoon 5-16-23
Tlm724 Administrator Bondlady’s Corner
Significant Rise In Central Bank Sales Of The Dollar
Economy| 05/16/2023 Baghdad – Mawazine News recorded the central bank’s sales of foreign currency in an auction today, Tuesday, more than 272 million dollars.
https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=226972
Iraq And America Are Discussing Prospects For Bilateral Cooperation In The Field Of Oil And Energy
Economy| 12:32 – 05/16/2023 Baghdad – Mawazine News, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul Ghani, discussed with the Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce for Middle East Affairs, Steve Lotus, on Tuesday, prospects for bilateral cooperation in the field of oil and energy.
The Oil Ministry said in a statement, “Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani received Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce for Middle East Affairs Steve Lotus.”
During the meeting, according to the statement, they discussed prospects for bilateral cooperation with US companies in the field of oil and energy. LINK
Oil Rises After US Plans To Refill The Strategic Reserves
Economy| 08:06 – 05/16/2023 Follow-up – Mawazine News Oil rose for a second day in early Asian trading, as prices received support from the United States’ plans to buy oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, while wildfires raging in Canada increased supply concerns.
The US Department of Energy said it would buy 3 million barrels of crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for delivery in August, and requested bids by May 31.
Brent crude futures rose 42 cents, or 0.56 percent, to $75.65 a barrel by 0250 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude recorded $71.49 a barrel, up 37 cents, or 0.52 percent, according to Reuters data. Ended https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=22694
US Ambassador: The United States Will Remain Present In The Region, Especially Iraq
Political | 05/16/2023 Baghdad – Mawazine News The US ambassador to Baghdad, Alina Romanowski, said, in a press statement, that the United States “will not leave the region,” stressing that Iraq “represents great strategic importance to Washington,” and that “the Iraqis do not want a country controlled by militias.”
Alina Romanowsky added: “About a year ago, exactly last July, US President Joe Biden visited Saudi Arabia, met with regional leaders, and made it clear that the United States will not leave the region, as it considers it of strategic importance, and we have long-standing relations in the fields of politics and economics.” culture and education.”
And she continued, “We worked with our partners in the region for a long time in order to face a number of challenges, especially to put an end to the various crises in the region. It is clear, then, that the United States will remain present in the region and will remain interested in deepening its partnerships with its countries, especially with Iraq.”
Regarding the situation in Iraq, and the people’s desire for stability, she said:
“When I go out and talk to the Iraqis, it becomes clear to me very clearly that they do not want a state controlled by militias, but rather want to disarm the militias and return them to the state.”
“Therefore, whatever the nature of the prime minister’s relationship with these armed groups and factions, the goal must remain focused on ensuring that Iraq enjoys stability and security, and it is a goal entrusted to the prime minister to achieve.”
“This stability will inevitably benefit the United States and the international community. We all cannot bring business and engage on a larger scale if there is no stability and security in Iraq.”
“All I have to do is look through the windows of our embassy compound building to see the huge scale of buildings being built…
“Thanks to the stability that Iraq has come to enjoy, Iraqis in the diaspora have begun to return in order to invest and display their arts and works. There is a very positive environment full of opportunities, and this is thanks to the stability that prevails now, and to the security that has become pervading Iraq, especially Baghdad.”
Fighting Corruption In Iraq
When asked about the anti-corruption campaign launched by the Iraqi authorities, Romanowski said:
“We seek to continue to support Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani in his commitment to eradicating corruption and money laundering in Iraq. To ensure the strengthening of the international banking system in Iraq.
“It also aims to verify that banks have the necessary compliance mechanisms in place to prevent money laundering and dollar smuggling out of Iraq, and to ensure that Iraqi companies feel confident, and that the Iraqi public has confidence that they have a banking system that protects their savings and financial resources.”
“What is required is banks’ respect for international standards, and the exclusion of all malicious actors who might use the international banking system to launder money. This is what the cooperation between the Treasury Ministry and the Iraqi financial system has focused on for a long time.”
On The Water Crisis In Iraq, The US Ambassador To Iraq Replied,
“This issue is of real concern to the Iraqis and the government. We express our readiness and desire to work with the government and the Iraqi people, to share our best practices with the aim of achieving greater efficiency in the use of water.”
“We urge the Government of Iraq to start a constructive dialogue with neighboring countries, which are the source countries for Iraqi water, in order to try to reach a better understanding on how to share water resources.”
“USAID has been working in Iraq for several years, and we are very proud of the projects we have implemented, such as bringing and maintaining water pumps in areas such as Basra, Nineveh and Anbar, and delivering water to hundreds of thousands of people in areas where our agency has been able to launch projects.”
“This is an area in which we hope to continue working. We have the ability to exchange water experts, as the United States has been affected more than once by droughts, and we have sent a group of Iraqi water experts to some regions of America, where we are looking for innovative ways and the use of new technologies to improve water management and delivery.” .
Iraq and Turkey
The US official touched on the attacks launched by Turkey on the sites of the PKK (some of which are located in Iraq), saying: ”
We share with Turkey its concern about the attacks launched by the PKK, and we encourage Turkey and Iraq to work together and cooperate in combating terrorism, to restore stability.” places targeted by terrorist attacks.
Fighting ISIS
When asked about ISIS in Iraq and the efforts exerted in the framework of fighting it, the US ambassador explained:
“We were pleased with the Prime Minister’s assurance that he loves working with the United States, and that he believes that the work we are doing to ensure the defeat of ISIS is still very important. Our efforts will continue until we are sure of All ISIS elements have been defeated, including the remnants.”
“We are confident that we have growing and important relations with Iraq in security issues, and we will continue to work together in this direction.”
“We, along with the Government of Iraq, continue to believe that there are still pockets of ISIS fighters, and this represents an ongoing challenge to the security and stability of the region. We will continue our work as partners to confront this internal threat in Iraq.”
The United States will continue to work to ensure that ISIS does not remain a threat to the region and the world alike, which is why I do not think we are in a position to say that ISIS is finished.” “We can say, from Iraq and the region in particular, that we have a strong partnership that
shares our vision that stating that our work within the framework of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS remains very important. We still hold annual ministerial meetings on this issue, in addition to our focus on how to ensure the reintegration of victims from ISIS relatives into their communities and their safe living within them.” “
Continuing Achievements” And US-Iraqi Cooperation
Romanowski spoke about the relations that unite her country with Iraq, saying:
“The United States is very committed to the stability and sovereignty of Iraq. Iraq is in a location surrounded by many neighbors, and as a country that has many neighboring countries, including Iran, it has relations with its neighbors, in the economic, political and other fields.”
“America focuses mainly on ensuring that Iraq has its sovereignty and that it makes its decisions independently, in a way that serves the interests of not only the government, but also the Iraqi people.”
“What we have achieved here, after being in Iraq for 20 years, is a continuous process. We focus a lot at the present time on the future, whether in our dealings with the prime minister or the government, and on what we can continue to build with the Iraqi people and in partnership with them.”
“It is very important for us to consider Iraq as a country of great strategic importance, and engaged in supporting the stability, security and economic development of the region. From this perspective, I believe that we are on the right path to expand our relations in accordance with the strategic framework agreement that we negotiated and agreed upon in 2008.”
During the past few years, due to the Corona pandemic and security challenges and those related to the stability of Iraq, we have been focusing more on security issues, and today we are in a position to work with the Sudanese government to help him achieve the goals of his agenda at the level of strengthening work in the areas of security, economy and culture, and contributing to Ensuring that Iraq enjoys strong and good relations with its neighbors in the region, especially with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jordan, and other countries.
We are looking forward to the future.. and we have initiated many discussions in the economy and we are eagerly seeking to increase our economic and commercial cooperation, and we have worked to achieve independence in the field of energy in Iraq, and to promote cultural exchange in which a lot of work awaits us
Among the new and important areas, not only for Iraq, but for the United States, the region, and the world as well, is working to confront climate change. The effects of drought, water scarcity, and poor air quality are very clear on the government and the people.” Together.”
“For any government to implement its vision, there must be stability and security. Of course, it is possible to progress and work to strengthen our relations after Iraq became enjoying the stability that the Iraqi people sought.” https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=226992
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