KTFA:
Clare: Why does Iraq participate in the Davos Forum? .. The President answers
2023-01-17
The Iraqi President, Abd al-Latif Rashid confirmed, on Tuesday, his participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland, to emphasize the importance of establishing security and stability in the country.
We are participating in the Davos Forum to stress the importance of consolidating the security and stability of Iraq and its vital role in the region and the world,” he said in a tweet on Twitter, seen by Shafak News Agency.
Rashid stressed, “Working on economic partnerships that are in the interest of citizens and their needs through important projects, rehabilitation of basic infrastructure, and coordination to confront climate changes facing Iraq and the whole world.”
Yesterday, Monday, the President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, left Iraq for Switzerland to participate in the meetings of the World Economic Forum in Davos, accompanied by Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein. LINK
Henig: Economist: The Federal Bank requires Iraq to hand over oil revenues
34 minutes ago
Economic expert Nasser Al-Kinani confirmed, on Sunday, that the US Federal Bank requires Iraq to hand over its revenues from selling oil to the countries of the world, while stressing that it is possible to invest in oil exports in the face of the dollar crisis.
Al-Kinani said in a press interview seen by “Takadam” that “the Federal Bank imposes on Iraq the delivery of oil export revenues to the countries of the world,” noting that “Iraq cannot dispense with foreign currency at all because of the international link with the dollar.”
And he continued, “Iraq has the opportunity to barter, through oil in exchange for work or projects directly, without the need to deposit Iraq’s money in America,” noting that “it is possible to invest oil exports in the face of the dollar crisis.”
And on the method of supplying money to Iraq, Al-Kinani said, “The Federal Bank is working to send money in dollars to Iraq from time to time, or at the request of Iraq.”
It is worth noting that the Development Fund for Iraq was formed according to UN Security Council Resolution 1483, to protect Iraqi funds from international claims and their piracy after the events of 2003. LINK
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Clare: Saudi Arabia announces the readiness of its companies to invest in Iraq
01/17/2023 Economy News / Baghdad
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fouad Hussein, confirmed today, Tuesday, that Iraq is seeking 25 Gulf investments as an occasion for the gathering of Gulf brothers in Iraq.
The ministry stated, in a statement, that “Hussein met with the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, on the sidelines of the Davos World Economic Forum meetings.”
The statement added, “The meeting discussed bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries, in addition to discussing the regional situation in the Gulf region and the Middle East.”
The minister began the meeting by “expressing the depth of relations between Iraq and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, stressing Iraq’s endeavor to strengthen Gulf relations in general and Iraqi-Saudi relations in particular, because of their strategic importance for Iraq.”
He explained, “Iraq seeks to invest in non-traditional diplomacy in the Gulf 25, which is currently being organized in the city of Basra as an occasion that brings together the Gulf brothers in Iraq.”
For his part, the Saudi Foreign Minister expressed his thanks for “providing this opportunity for the purpose of discussing and exchanging views on Iraqi-Saudi relations and the latest current events in the region. He also expressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s support for the Iraqi government’s efforts aimed at promoting democracy and prosperity for Iraq.”
He stressed that “Iraq’s geographical location and available resources make it an important pillar in the region and enhance the role it can play regionally.”
He pointed out, “We must work to strengthen economic relations between the two countries, and that Saudi companies are ready to invest in the Iraqi economy.” LINK
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Henig: “Chinese gaming giant” enters Iraqi telecom markets: “An end to the Internet delay problem”
Baghdad Today – Translator
The well-known Chinese company “Tencent” specialized in electronic games announced today, Monday, its entry into the Iraqi telecommunications market through a partnership with the local “IQ” company to cover the country with private networks, expressing its hope to improve the local communications network in general and the performance of electronic games in particular.
The company said in a statement reported by (MENAFN), translated by (Baghdad Today), that “the number of mobile phone users in Iraq is expected to reach 10 million by 2026, mostly suffering from a weakness in the local communications network operating in Iraq, And the absence of suppliers capable of providing a communication service that meets the needs of the players in the country, which the company confirmed its intention to invest.
And she indicated, “One of the biggest problems facing players in Iraq and hindering the growth of the electronic games market and the use of the Internet significantly, is the delay that exceeds eighty parts of a second under the service of the current Internet providers in the country, the company,” noting that it “will provide networks and devices It hopes to reduce the delay rate to 20 milliseconds only.
It promised the Iraqi players to “solve the problem of delay once and for all in the country.”
And she added, “It will provide an Internet connection service that will outperform all current competitors in Iraq and lead to an improvement in communications and Internet services in general across the country,” explaining that “the new networks will reduce Internet congestion and delays and significantly increase speeds in line with the players’ needs.” In addition to setting up local servers for well-known games inside the country to reduce momentum and increase speeds.
She pointed out that “the project also contributes to linking Iraq to the Silk Road Telecom Network, which will increase the effectiveness of communications in an unprecedented way,” stressing that “the entry of the Chinese gaming giant into Iraq and its willingness to install servers and local networks of its own is a very positive indication of the escalating desire of companies.” foreigners to enter the Iraqi market and serve its technological needs. LINK
Henig: Integrity: the arrest of 18 employees and a commentator, and major breaches in the tax branches
Baghdad today – Baghdad
Today, Monday, the Integrity Commission announced the arrest of 18 employees and commentators, and dozens of transactions, violations and major violations, in the branches of the General Tax Authority.
And the Commission’s Investigations Department stated, in a statement received by (Baghdad Today), that it had caught “discussed persons in the Rusafa and Adhamiya taxes who are practicing their work illegally, and an employee in the Ward Division in the Rusafa branch was caught red-handed and is receiving sums of money from auditors.”
In Wasit Governorate, the department pointed out that “3 commentators were seized and 11 transactions, ten of which were accompanied by them, while one transaction was seized in the personal car of an employee in the tax branch in the governorate inside the department’s garage.”
And she indicated that in Diyala, “5 tax inspectors were seized in the tax branches in Baquba and Al-Khalis, in addition to a large group of transactions belonging to citizens, adding that a tax assessor was caught in Baquba and in possession of a group of transactions in his car for modern cars and sums of money.”
And she added, “The teams carried out seizure operations in the Authority’s branch in Al-Diwaniyah Governorate, as they were able to seize 3 suspects in accordance with the provisions of Article 335 of the Penal Code, for having taken out citizens’ transactions outside the department without the knowledge of the department director and exempting the real estate subject of the transactions from tax accounting, claiming that its estimate is less than 50 million dinars.
And the department continued: “As for the branches of the General Tax Authority – Kirkuk 1 and 2, they were affected by audits and investigations. In (Kirkuk 1), the team seized a treasurer and a lawyer, because the first accepted a sum of money that was more than legally prescribed, and fixed a smaller amount in the receipt, while he was able to The team also seized an amount of more than 4 million dinars with the receipt, and seized a fund official after the field team monitored a shortage in the amount of the amounts received by her.
She added, “The field teams of the Commission’s investigation offices in Anbar and Salah al-Din were able to seize two, one of whom is an employee of the tax branch in Fallujah in flagrante delicto.”
And it alerted to “the organization of fundamental seizure records, and presenting them with the accused and the seized documents to the judges of the investigative courts specialized in hearing cases of integrity in Baghdad and the provinces, who decided to arrest most of the accused pending investigation.” LINK
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Henig: The International Monetary Fund warns of a danger that will cost the world 7% of its GDP
Economy News / Baghdad
The International Monetary Fund said in a new report that the current fragmentation could cost the global economy up to 7% of GDP.
The longer-term cost of the fragmentation of the trade sector ranges from 0.2% of global output to nearly 7%, roughly the combined annual output of Germany and Japan, according to the report published on Sunday titled “The Complexity of Grand Challenges” facing policymakers today. The research did not say how long it would take for fragmentation processes to affect growth of this size.
Depending on the definition of “fragmentation,” some of the IMF’s forecasts look even bleaker. Estimates that include technological decoupling between regions suggest that countries could lose up to 12% of GDP.
The International Monetary Fund lists a number of factors contributing to increasing global fragmentation, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both cases caused international turmoil in financial, food, and energy supplies, with additional trade restrictions adding to the dispute between regions, according to CNBC, which Al Arabiya.net reviewed.
“The danger is that political interventions adopted in the name of economic or national security could have unintended consequences, or could be used deliberately for economic gain at the expense of others,” the report said.
It also lists restrictions on cross-border migration, reduced capital flows and decreased international cooperation as different types of dichotomy.
‘The developing world will lag further’
The IMF does not expect all countries to feel the effects of fragmentation equally.
According to the report, low-income consumers in advanced economies will not have access to cheaper imported goods, leaving small open market economies particularly vulnerable.
“Most Asian countries will suffer because of their heavy reliance on open trade,” the report said.
Emerging and developing economies will also stop benefiting from the “technology spillovers” from more advanced economies, which in the past helped boost growth and living standards.
“Instead of catching up with income levels in the advanced economy, the developing world will fall further behind,” the report added.
3 recommendations
The International Monetary Fund has recommended three approaches to address fragmentation: strengthening the international trading system, helping vulnerable countries deal with debt, and stepping up climate action.
These topics are likely to feature heavily in discussions at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, starting Monday, which this year is under the theme “Cooperation in a Fragmented World.”
