TNT:
CandyKisses: The International Astronomy Center determines the first day of the month of Ramadan
Baghdad Today – Follow-up
The director of the International Astronomy Center, Muhammad Shawkat Odeh, revealed that March 23 is the first day of next Ramadan.
Odeh said in a statement: “With regard to the countries that will investigate the crescent on Tuesday, March 21, seeing it on that day is impossible for the moon to set before the sun and for the pairing to occur after sunset, and therefore these countries will complete the month of Sha’ban thirty days, to be on Thursday, March 23. March is the beginning of the month of Ramadan.
And he added: “For the countries that will investigate the crescent on Wednesday, March 22, seeing the crescent on that day is possible using a telescope from the east of the world, while it is possible with the naked eye with difficulty from central Asia, eastern Europe and southern Africa, and it is possible with the naked eye relatively easily.” from western Asia, most of Africa, western Europe, and the Americas.
Tishwash: On Chinese soil.. An Iranian-Saudi agreement to resume relations between the two countries
Today, Friday, Iran and Saudi Arabia announced, in a joint statement, the agreement to resume bilateral relations between the two countries, according to what was reported by the Iranian Tasnim Agency.
The agency said that, following the visit of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi to Beijing last February, the Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, began intensive discussions with his Saudi counterpart last Monday, with the aim of following up the agreements of the Iranian president’s visit in order to resolve issues between Tehran and Riyadh once and for all.
And he announced in a joint statement that Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to resume bilateral relations.
At the conclusion of the completed talks, “the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and representations within two months.” link
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CandyKisses: Xi Jinping elected president of China for third term
Baghdad Today – Follow-up
Xi Jinping was re-elected as China’s president for an unprecedented third five-year term on Friday after lawmakers voted unanimously in favor of him.
The result of the deputies’ vote, announced at around 03:00 GMT, was final: 2,952 votes in favor of Xi, the 69-year-old leader, with no votes against or abstentions, which took place in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
In October, Xi Jinping was granted a 5-year extension at the head of the Chinese Communist Party and the Military Commission, the two most important positions in the country’s ladder of power.
Until last December, China was still applying the most stringent policies against Covid in the world, affecting economic growth and the daily lives of its residents, whether through almost daily PCR tests and long-term quarantine or through travel restrictions.
The “zero Covid” policy was associated with the image of Jinping himself. When demonstrations broke out in November across the country, some did not hesitate to demand that he leave.
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CandyKisses: Iraq seeks to join WTO
Iraq seeks to meet the requirements for joining a member of the World Trade Organization, amid significant challenges related to what observers describe as structural, economic and legislative “distorities” that have officially hampered the process of obtaining membership. Baghdad had previously obtained observer status only, because there are many requirements that it did not meet in this context.
The Director of the World Trade Organization Department (a government institution) of the Iraqi Ministry of Commerce, Tharwat Akram, told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that his ministry has prepared the necessary plans to join the organization, and specialized committees were formed with the participation of the Iraqi private sector and relevant bodies and ministries.
He added that the ministry worked on completing the technical accession files in terms of goods, services and intellectual property, in addition to harmonizing legislation and laws with the organization’s agreements, in coordination with the General Authority of Customs and the Iraqi Standardization and Quality Control Authority, for the purpose of submitting and negotiating the file, and approving it after completing the requirements for joining.
Akram stressed that the private sector is one of the most important active partners in drawing up the state’s economic policy, and it is very important to have a say in making decisions that will advance the national economic reality.
In order to obtain membership in the World Trade Organization, a number of structural and regulatory conditions and determinants must be met by Iraqi economic policy, according to the economic researcher Ali Al-Hayani, foremost of which is addressing structural imbalances, the diversity of economic sectors, and not relying solely on oil to finance GDP.
Al-Hayani told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that Iraq is not ready to join the World Trade Organization, under its current situation, unless it achieves economic and legislative reforms in order to overcome obstacles to the application file to join.
He added that one of the most important conditions for joining is adherence to trade protection policies, the abolition of customs restrictions on imports, and the placement of a customs tariff in its place, which requires a comprehensive review of Iraqi customs laws, in addition to working to implement an appropriate agricultural policy that addresses support issues, allowing agricultural imports to enter local markets, and subjecting them to customs tariffs.
He explained that other conditions to be met include activating the services sector towards the outside world, issuing and applying a measure of legislation compatible with the requirements of the minimum protection of intellectual property rights agreed in the Uruguay Agreement, as well as Iraq’s commitment to implement comprehensive economic reform policies that allow the free movement of capital and foreign investments.
In 2010, the Iraqi Ministry of Commerce announced that it had taken several economic and trade steps to obtain membership in the World Trade Organization, by reviewing the agreements previously signed with more than twenty countries, and recently announced its quest to join the World Trade Organization, through a plan it prepared to complete the requirements for joining the organization, after completing the technical files in terms of goods, services and intellectual property.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the largest economic organization, being the main driver of the world economy, and its membership includes 164 member states, representing more than 98 percent of world trade and global trade GDP.
Iraq’s orientation towards accession is important at the level of the country’s economy in general and the stability of its markets, as it will create the necessary economic and legislative conditions for development, but it does not guarantee the desired benefits for the country, because obtaining these advantages depends on the country’s ability to create a suitable climate capable of implementing the organization’s obligations, while Iraq’s survival outside the framework of the organization will make it in international isolation.
Specialists believe that Iraq is not prepared to join the organization unless economic and legislative reforms are achieved that overcome obstacles to the file of Iraq’s accession, which requires more efforts to prepare all the necessary requirements, to facilitate its task of obtaining full membership.
The general coordinator of the Iraqi Economists Network, Barek Shubar, sees the lack of benefit from Iraq’s current accession to the organization, due to the current economic and political situation.
Speaking to Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed, Shubar pointed out that membership in the World Trade Organization brings benefits to countries that have strong export industries and goods, and this is what Iraq loses, because it does not have such industries, but depends to a high degree on imports.
He added that Iraq’s accession to the organization means adherence to the rules of free international trade, and one of its conditions is to freeze the level of customs tariffs at the current ceilings and gradually reduce it, and Iraq is not allowed to raise its levels except in cases of dumping after the approval of the organization.
He explained that Iraq should not rush the process of joining the organization, and maintain the status of observer, so that it can work to create a fertile and suitable environment for joining.
