Baghdad has renewed its desire to transform the nature of its relationship with Washington, and move from the traditional focus on military cooperation to building a strong economic alliance, reflecting the common desire to strengthen economic ties and deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries.

A statement received by Al-Zaman yesterday said that (the Higher Coordination Committee for the Strategic Framework Agreement for Friendship and Cooperation with the United States of America stressed the need to move the relationship with Washington to an economic partnership and not to focus on military affairs),

and Foreign Minister Fuad Hassan, who chaired the committee’s regular meeting in the presence of all representatives of the subcommittees within the Higher Committee, confirmed that (the latest developments in bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States of America were discussed,

in addition to reviewing the achievements approved during the recent meetings between the two parties in mid-April in the capital, Washington), adding that (the meeting touched on future working papers that will be discussed during the upcoming meetings of the committee, scheduled to be held in February of next year, within the agreed upon axes, which include cooperation in the political, diplomatic, security, defense, energy, economic, education, health and environment fields),

and Hussein stressed (the importance of strengthening relations with the United States of America by implementing the provisions of the agreement, and moving the relationship to a solid economic partnership), stressing (the need not to focus only on military and security aspects, but rather to expand cooperation to include economic, health, educational and other fields).

In Erbil, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, received the new Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Iraq, Alicia Rico Perez del Pulgar.

A statement received by (Al-Zaman) yesterday said that (Barzani congratulated the ambassador on her new mission at the beginning of the meeting, wishing her success), and expressed (his thanks to Spain for its support and cooperation within the framework of the international coalition against ISIS).

The statement indicated that (the two sides stressed the importance of resolving the contentious issues between the region and the federal government on the basis of the constitution, and respecting the federal system and the constitutional entity of Kurdistan).

For her part, Pulgar stressed (the importance of strengthening her country’s relations with Iraq and the region in various fields, and congratulated the Prime Minister on the success of the Kurdistan Parliament elections). In addition, the Undersecretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Masoud Haider, confirmed the absence of direct dealings between the federal institutions and the departments of the region regarding the disbursement of salaries.

Haider said in a statement yesterday that (no federal institution can deal directly with the departments of the regional government, and that dealing with the region is only done through the Kurdistan government itself), and he pointed out that (salaries are paid exclusively by the Ministry of Finance in the regional government), stressing (the necessity of not exploiting these sensitive issues for political purposes that may increase tensions).

Parliamentary Finance To Nina: We Are Discussing With The Government The Preparation Of The 2025 General Budget…And These Are Our Observations

 The Parliamentary Finance Committee disclosed part of the joint meetings with government agencies to prepare the new general budget law 2025 and its tables related to revenues and expenditures.

Committee member, MP Moeen Al-Kazemi, stated in a statement to the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA /, that “the Finance Committee has ongoing discussions and meetings with the Minister of Finance on the implementation of the 2024 budget items, especially those related to revenues and expenditures, as we found that there is a reduction in spending and complaints from governorates and ministries about the weak actual funding of spending units.”

He added, “The Parliamentary Finance Committee is working on formulating the new general budget tables for next year 2025 in a realistic manner, away from the increases that cannot be guaranteed to be secured, as happened in the current year’s budget 2024.”

He explained, “We seek to have a general budget of 150 trillion dinars, distributed as oil revenues of 120 trillion dinars, and non-oil revenues of 30 trillion dinars, so that the budget tables are realistic in which revenues can be collected and spent.”

He continued, “During the joint meetings with the Minister of Finance and ministry officials, the need to activate the revenues of government departments, including electricity, the Baghdad Municipality, municipal departments and other services provided by all ministries, in addition to taxes, border crossing revenues and customs, as well as supporting the private sector in the fields of agriculture, industry, trade, services and investment, was emphasized.

This would also contribute to increasing the country’s revenues in general, and stabilizing hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers.” /

The Integrity, Accountability And Justice Commissions Affirm The Concerted Efforts Of State Institutions To Combat The Scourge Of Corruption

  The Chairman of the Federal Integrity Commission, Mohammed Ali Al-Lami, and the Chairman of the Accountability and Justice Commission, Bassem Al-Badri, confirmed, on Monday, the combined efforts of state institutions to combat the scourge of corruption.

A statement by the Integrity Commission, seen by Al-Eqtisad News, said, “The Chairman of the Federal Integrity Commission (Mohammed Ali Al-Lami) called on state institutions to adopt a comprehensive reform policy that is consistent with the government program; to achieve the aspirations of the people in combating corruption and providing the best services to citizens.”

The Chairman of the Federal Integrity Commission confirmed, according to the statement, that “the oversight agencies work in partnership with various state institutions and enjoy the support of the three legislative, judicial and executive authorities,” noting “close cooperation with the heads of the courts of appeal in Baghdad and the governorates in confronting corruption and striking the hands of the corrupt.”

He continued, “The Commission strives to maintain the independence of the oversight agencies and work with complete neutrality, and to stay away from any purposes or goals other than adhering to the tasks stipulated in its effective law No. (30 of 2011) as amended and other effective laws.”

For his part, the head of the Accountability and Justice Commission, Bassem Al-Badri, said, according to the statement, that “Al-Lami’s assumption of the presidency of the commission represents a moral boost for the commission’s members, whom he described as soldiers of integrity on the battlefields of combating corruption, and who deserve support and assistance to carry out their arduous and serious tasks to eradicate corruption and strike the hands of anyone who dares to encroach on public funds.”

Al-Sudani: The Government Relies On The Projects Of The Iraq Development Fund

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani confirmed on Monday that the government relies on the projects of the Iraq Development Fund and its subsidiary funds.

The Prime Minister’s media office said in a statement that al-Sudani chaired the periodic meeting of the Board of Directors of the Iraq Development Fund, where the steps for implementing the (EDOPA) project for school buildings were followed up, and the final qualification of the companies that submitted their offers to participate and begin implementation was followed up.

Al-Sudani pointed out that the government relies on the projects of the Iraq Development Fund and its subsidiary funds to involve the private sector and expand its contribution to the national product, provide job opportunities, meet infrastructure needs and shorten the necessary time.

The meeting also discussed proceeding with the partnership with the Al-Suwaidi Group of Companies, based on the memorandum of understanding signed with it, and determining the location of the industrial city that will be established in partnership between the Fund and the Egyptian group.

Oil Falls More Than 4% As Geopolitical Risks Recede

Oil prices fell more than $ 3 a barrel in Asian trading on Monday, after the Israeli strike on Iran at the weekend avoided hitting oil and nuclear facilities in Tehran and did not disrupt energy supplies, which eased geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures and US West Texas Intermediate crude hit their lowest levels since October 1 at the opening.

This morning, Brent crude was at $ 72.66, down $ 3.39, or 4.5 percent, a barrel, while WTI crude fell $ 3.28, or 4.6 percent, to $ 68.50 a barrel, according to Reuters data. Both crudes rose four percent last week in volatile trading as markets digested uncertainty about the extent of Israel’s response to Iran’s missile attack on October 1 and the US elections next month.

Dozens of Israeli warplanes carried out three waves of strikes before dawn on Saturday against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran, in the latest exchange of fire in the escalating conflict between the two Middle East rivals.

Analysts said the geopolitical risk premium that had built into oil prices in anticipation of an Israeli attack had eased.

In October, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, left their oil production policy unchanged, including a plan to start increasing output from December. The group’s joint ministerial committee will meet on Dec. 1 ahead of a full OPEC+ meeting./End9