The government takes a series of decisions and procedures to activate the role of the private sector. The headline alone should tell you that.
They’re talking about activating the private sector. That means the private sector is different because, Iraq has always been in oil, rent, if you will, economy, not a market economy. And so what they’ve done is they’ve went from or going from that rentier source to non oil revenue streams. And so they’re doing that as the private sector.
The private sector is going to come in and take partnerships in either banking, in the reconstruction of the country, all the different things you can imagine. Private sector dealing with electricity and energy, water, agriculture, all of it. So here it says the supporting the private sector and creating jobs, job opportunities or priorities confirmed by the government of Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al Sudani.
And there’s plans to invest this role in the sectors in diversifying the economy, reducing dependence on oil and contributing to creating sustainable development. You’re going to see names like the IMF, International Monetary Fund, the Bank of International Settlements, the BIS, you’re gonna see the World bank, you’re gonna see the WTO, the World Trade Organisation. They all talk about sustainable development.
And that’s what Iraq needs to do, is they’re gonna diversify from what oil. They’re gonna add in all the things that we have been talking about.
They’re talking about sovereign guarantees. In other words. It’s almost like a win win situation for investors.
So if any of you out there want to be an investor in Iraq and you have what it takes, I would suggest you pick up the phone and get a hold of your chamber of commerce, international Chamber of Commerce, or the United States Chamber of Commerce and see what they have to offer, because they have sovereign guarantees, it says the private sector. And the triannual budget, which is a tripartite budget, is to support the establishment of laboratories, factories, establishment of agriculture projects, put forward a new vision to grant the private sector to achieve.
They’re doing this to help others achieve reform efforts and their own efforts, and to activate laws that are enforced to take care of who workers in the private sector. And they go on to say, April 7, for instance, up to 2024, this, as April 7, there did an approval of issuance of investment and partnership instructions between the public and private sectors for the year 2024. So they’ve done that already based on the provisions of the Constitution, the federal budget law of the Republic. The three fiscal years.
We know that they’ve done that. That’s beautiful. It says here what they’re doing is they’ve made several decisions. To support the private industrial sector. So they’re not just talking about the commercial side, they’re talking about industrial stack. What is that going to be like? Steel, phosphates, sulphur, all those things.
Minerals, everything. for instance, in 2023, that they talked about the framework of developing and supporting the national industry. They’re talking about dry gas.
Committee for investment for projects. The commitment of the Ministry of Oil to allocate and equipment new industrial projects. Plan to establish the partnership between the government and the private sector. who’s involved? Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Minerals. What are they talking about?
Dry gas. So next thing is they’re talking about the framework of the government’s vision of economic reform in revitalising the investment and development movement in the country. The Council of Ministers approved them in August 2023. The national strategy for bank lending.
So they’re talking about the banking sector. What else? Attracting local and foreign investors to increase what credit granted to it from what non oil revenue streams. GDP out to win. 2029. 2029. They’re forecasting.
They’re launching a new industrial initiative to promote the sectors. And they are talking about many industrial sectors. So it didn’t quite go into isolation of any specific one, but it says here, the iraqi doctor company, private sector, the Saudi northern cement industry. So there’s another sector.
The private sector’s partnerships in the field of cement is going to be really big, I mean, think about all the concrete they’re going to use for all the foundations for the new buildings, new industrial cities, the residential complexes. You see what they’ve been doing? They set the stage.
This was over. This is last year, 2023, not 2024. And 24 is almost over. Okay, so it says here that during this visit, in this particular case, back in April 2024, the prime minister decided to involve a delegation from the private sector and iraqi businessmen in visiting delegations.
During the visit, the prime minister also sponsored the signing of similar memorandums of understanding between the iraqi private sector and the american companies in the fields of energy and pharmaceutical industries. That was back in April of 2024. So as you can see. Where are we now?
They put this articles out just today. You guys were yesterday. I’m sorry. July 20, the prime minister opened four factories for the military Industrialization Authority.
This is for Iraq. Including the electric vehicle production factory at the General war Industries company. partnership with who? Private sector. And then, I mean, it goes on.
And they’re talking about other countries. Egypt, for instance, Jordan, iraqi, Jordanian. They’re all having, look, everybody knows that Iraq is going to be the financial. Well, it said back in September of 2023, around this timeframe, that Iraq was going to be effectively the saviour of the international financial system, is going to provide, bring what confidence to the financial system in the largest banks in the world?
They’ve been working on this to do what they said they were going to do. The Ministry of Transport signed September 3, 2023, an agreement with the international Financial Corporation, which is what related to. I think that’s the World bank.
To rehabilitate and develop Baghdad International airport. The international Finance Corporation included consulting with development of the role of private sector in enhancing its entry into the public services arena. Partnership with the public sectors facing future challenges. Look, the list of accomplishments under Al Sadani and his teams is nothing but stellar.
They’ve been hard at work at setting the stage for international cooperation and coordination with the private sector. It looks like the foundation is now in place and will be holding and will be a strong footing for Iraq to start on. Let’s look forward to seeing this real effective exchange rate that will have to be applied at some point in time here in the near future to make sure that this gets that footing is indefinitely in cement. So digital banks, digital transformation.
Here’s the article, the next phase of digital transformation in the egyptian sector. I just mentioned Egypt. It says, with steady steps the central bank continues to implement the banking reform strategy. One of the main objectives is which to achieve digital transformation in the banking sector.
This dates back to as early as they started this process in 2017, it says, which included the first, second and third stages that far back. Right. So during the past two years, Al Sudani has been in office.
Cooperation between the government with the personal support follow up of the prime minister and the central bank was a fundamental step to activate and accelerate the digital transformation in the government and the transition from a cash economy to a digital economy. They go on to say that the developing information technology, by developing information technology, establishing digital banks, using artificial intelligence in the banking services and using modern technologies and loans, compliance, risk management, combating money laundering, terrorist financing and combating banking fraud, all of those things.
The results during 2023 2024 recorded what they call a qualitative leap in the volume of transactions and electronic payment operations and the use of modern banking technologies. The banking reform now entered a new phase of transformation to the digital banks. The central bank is currently examining auditing about 70 requests to licence new digital banks according to the precise controls and conditions adopted by the central bank.
It says this constitutes a real and promising start for technical banking development in Iraq, bridging the gap of other countries of the world in this field. This facilitates the provision of smart banking services, reduces the chances of fraud and corruption, and provides important data on the nature of those transactions, their control and compliance. well, doesn’t that sound like the blockchain is about ready to just turn on?
It says therefore, digital banks are in an a new stage of digital transformation and banking reform. And they hope that the central bank will soon take the first step by licencing digital banks that show, through examination, audit study, that there are committed to the applicables controls and conditions. So if they pull that off, guess what? They’re probably going to have to be the ability to do transfers, electronic transfers.
It says, will Iraq resort to reducing expenditures to cover the budget deficit?
This article is from an advisor, Mohamed Mohammed Mahar Muhammad Saleh. He’s the advisor to the prime minister, Shia al Sudani. And today, on October 5, which is actually yesterday on the possibility of the government resorting to reducing expenditures in order to cover the budget deficit and the lack of liquidity. So the article just basically goes on and just says, Soleil points out that there’s a government hedge according to the law, number 13 of the budget, and this law hedges against an economic crisis.
But the deficit is hypothetical. So hypothetical obviously is not real and it does not necessarily happen, but it gives flexibility to the financial liquidity. That’s the key there in securing assumptions or things to confront external clashes or crisis that may occur here and there. It says the Iraqi general budget tables for the year 2024 faced objections and controversy due to the reduction of the investment budget for the 15 governance that do not belong to the region after the federal government approved them in
June of last year. So they’re just flat out telling you that they have this approved, that it was done already. Parliament approved the country’s draught general budget for the three years 2023 through 2025. And they give you the, the amount of money that they did this.
So obviously they have it in place. And what we haven’t seen yet is the exposure of that 2024 budget on the investment side. And you know that in what we’ve read in past time and today a little bit, they talk about the 2024 budget and they’re going into the international world.
With who? The private sector. How are you going to do that without having budget? They haven’t exposed it yet.
When are they going to do that? My understanding is in of how they do things is that they have been working to that effect and they have to have probably everything in order for them to be able to, at a very critical time do that and show it. And they are showing us that based off some of this information and all we’ve had for the last few weeks, talking about delete the zeros, talking about all those different items and going international, you can see that this is probably what they’re talking about now because they’re talking about the 23, 24, 25 budget right there and they’re talking about, they’re talking about digital transformation. They’re talking about projects and what else are they trying to tell us?
They’re telling us that they’re going to pay salaries and such and then what are they going to do? They’re going to do it on electronic cards or they’re not.
It says, why have the salaries of the region’s employees not been localised? Yet now, when they say localised, what does that mean? It means that the federal government is going to pay the Kurdistan region’s portion of what they deserve to the citizens directly away from the Kurdistan hands.
In other words, it’s going to go from the federal government to the people, not only in Baghdad, in provinces, but all provinces around the world. All salaries. If they’re government oriented, they’re going to get paid. That’s how they’re going to do it.
Why didn’t you read there was 40 million cards issued? We knew about that and it was in print month or two ago. And now that they reiterated it.
So it says the framework parties are preparing for the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2025. And they’re. Who are they? I think they’re talking about the Kurds, but I think they’re having an election on the 20th of this month.
It says a new alliance to form the next government with the main ruling kurdish parties. And they’re distancing themselves from the problems of the region’s employees salaries so as to not clash with those parties in the region. It says the main reason for the Kurdistan regional government not localising the salaries of the region’s employees is the fear of the main parties in the region, that employees in civil, military and security institutions will be released from the grip of these parties and the people’s lack of interest in these parties after their source of livelihood was liberated by localising their salaries directly from the iraqi state.
So in other words, all of a sudden there could be a shift in the thought process. Since you’re not holding me hostage with my salaries, the government of Baghdad effectively is going to have control of my money. They may not be so open to be voting for certain parties. That’s what they’re telling you.
Especially with the recent clarification issued by the federal Supreme Court, which confirmed that its decision regarding the localization includes all banks licenced by the central bank operating in the Kurdistan region. And basically, as far as my view is concerned, the Kurds better get ready in taking care of the citizens and fairly from here on out, or they will not likely fare very well politically.
The localization of salaries in the hands of the federal government, in the unified treasury account, on their national cards, will be very effective in levelling the playing field. And it should, it really should. Accurate accounting of who gets paid will be very telling and likely very different than the past.
So the next article is fascinating too, is Kurdistan’s finance announces the deposit of salaries in Soleimania employees in their accounts. And this is today.
This was hours ago. This is fascinating. Ministry of Finance and Economy of the Kurdistan region of government announced on Sunday the deposit of the salaries of some Soleimani employees in their bank accounts. A statement from the ministry seen by the news explains that many employees received sms messages stating that their salaries had become available, enabling them to withdraw them from the ATM’s.
The statement stressed the importance of this step in facilitating the disbursement of salaries, especially in light of the financial challenges facing the region. And yes, they have some financial challenges because if they’ve been stealing money and they haven’t been paying people on time, and now they’re going to get it on time.
This comes after periods of delays in payroll which have been alarmed, which did and have alarmed the employees in the region. So, they’re going electronic.
Sms, textures, text. Text messages are telling people that their salaries can be accessed where? At ATM machines. They can withdraw money from the ATM machines.
Are they going to have the same exchange rate now? It’s electronically being taken care of. That’s what we’re looking for.
The Ministry of Finance discloses the opinion of board the development of financial performance and confirms the implementation of the recommendations of the Council of Ministers. That’s the headline of that.
The Ministry of Finance discusses with the opinion board the development of the financial performance and confirms the implementation of the recommendations of the Council of Ministers. So they have an opinion board basically on development and performance and that it’s being confirmed that there’s an implementation of the recommendations of the Council of Ministers. So they’ve done something. Who’s involved in that?
Well, the Ministry of Finance. Who’s she? Miss Tafe Sammy. She chaired a meeting Sunday today.
On this board, the meeting addressed the emphasis on implementing the recommendations of the Council of Ministers and the emphasis on continuing the tireless efforts and then providing the capabilities within the framework and implementing financial and strategic plans. Including what? Automation, digital transformation, the use of modern electronic systems and improving the reality of the work to provide optimal services to citizens.
They’re clearly letting us know that they are implementing the recommendations of the Council of Ministers. They’re telling the citizens that are providing the capabilities with the government’s framework to develop the financial performance. They were talking about also what?
Implementing financial and strategic plans, including automation, digital. The digital transformation of what? They’re using modern electronic systems. Does that sound like they’ve got something new?
Could that be the electronic payments that are going to be digitised, which are going to be part of a new, real effective exchange rate?
Yes. So just as they sent those text messages to the citizens informing them electronically it’s, they are, that they have paid the salaries. Now the question is going to be when do those electronic payments clear?
Digital clearing can be pretty fast. So do they have time frame on it? Is it set for today? Is it set for tomorrow?
Are we going to hear from Alak? Are we going to hear from Al Sudani about that 2024 budget? Are we going to talk about what did the Supreme Court said? The Supreme Court was just mentioned here tonight.
What did they say? What is it that everybody’s waiting for? Was there an action taken by the Supreme Court because they invoked it in one of these articles? I would suggest that it’s possible that they have, they don’t always tell you everything.
The Ministry of Judiciary is missing 4782 still. Well, at least as of yesterday, to the best of my knowledge. Why is that the real effective exchange rate that they’re dealing with, is that something that’s in there that’s allowing them to now, obviously now send out text messages?
Let’s see if Alalak and Al Sudani, Tafe Sammy, Ministerial Council of Economics breaks out with what we’ve been waiting for. Let’s see what happens.
