TNT:
CandyKisses: Parliamentary Finance reveals the results of the visit of the Iraqi delegation to Washington
Information / Baghdad ..
Member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Faisal Al-Naeli, revealed, on Saturday, the results achieved by the Iraqi delegation during his visit to Washington, noting that the delegation discussed with Washington lifting the restrictions imposed by the US Federal Bank on Iraq.
Al-Naeli said in an interview with Al-Maalouma agency, that “the Iraqi delegation’s visit to Washington came to come to an understanding about the dollar crisis,” adding that “the delegation discussed with Washington lifting the restrictions imposed by the US Federal Bank on Iraq,” and pointed out that “the negotiations reached multiple agreements.
” This led to the Iraqi government being able to reduce the dollar in the last period.
He continued, “The Federal Bank’s actions restricted the movement of the dollar and delayed money transfers from the Central Bank to banks abroad.”
A member of the Fatah Alliance, Ali Fatlawi, has accused the American side of playing on the chord of hitting the economy in order to achieve and implement its policies, pointing out that America is behind raising the value of the dollar currency in the Iraqi markets in order to achieve his goals.
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Tishwash: The launch of the second oil and gas conference in Iraq (2/18)
The second oil and gas conference will be held today in Baghdad, with the participation of local and international companies. The conference is scheduled to last for two days.
Major local and foreign companies in the field of oil and gas, as well as Arab and foreign diplomats working in Iraq, will participate in the second oil and gas conference in Iraq.
The conference continues for two days in Baghdad, with the participation of more than 400 delegates and representatives of local and foreign companies, most notably Baker Hughes, Scope Petroleum, Lukoil, Total, Crescent Petroleum, Weatherford, and many other international and local companies supporting this conference.
Erbil (Kurdistan 24) – The second oil and gas conference will be held today in Baghdad, with the participation of local and international companies. The conference is scheduled to last for two days.
Major local and foreign companies in the field of oil and gas, as well as Arab and foreign diplomats working in Iraq, will participate in the second oil and gas conference in Iraq.
The conference continues for two days in Baghdad, with the participation of more than 400 delegates and representatives of local and foreign companies, most notably Baker Hughes, Scope Petroleum, Lukoil, Total, Crescent Petroleum, Weatherford, and many other international and local companies supporting this conference. link
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CandyKisses: Report: Erbil resorts to Paris to pressure Baghdad and the latter is unable to implement its pledges
Baghdad – Nas
The London-based newspaper “Al-Arab” suggested that Erbil needs a “dose” of external support to pressure Baghdad on reaching a settlement on the outstanding files between them, especially since Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani does not seem able to translate his pledges into words in light of his lack of practical decision-making authority, as she put it.
The newspaper stated in a report followed by “NAS”, (February 18, 2023), that “Iraqi political circles say that the visit of the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, to Paris aims to request French mediation after the difficulty of betting on internal solutions to end the outstanding files between Erbil and Baghdad.”
The report reads as follows:
Circles say that the Kurdistan Regional Government, led by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), is trying to avoid options that may be painful, and have negative repercussions, such as resorting to withdrawal from the political process in Iraq, as this option will not stop at its repercussions on the federal government but will also have a cost on the region.
The same circles indicate that the KRG is betting on the good relations between Paris and Baghdad, and more importantly, there is a French interest in settling differences between Erbil and the federal government to boost its energy investments in Kurdistan.
Disagreements between Baghdad and Erbil over the management of energy resources in the Kurdistan regions have alienated foreign investors and prompted a number of Western companies to suspend their activities in the region.
During his visit to Paris, which began on Thursday and continued until Friday, Barzani met with French President Emmanuel Macron, where the two sides stressed the importance of solving the problems between Kurdistan and the federal government radically and on the basis of the constitution and protecting the security and stability of the region.
The President of the Regional Government also met with the President of the French Senate, Gérard Larch, and held a meeting with a number of business owners, investors, traders and representatives of a group of French companies.
During the meeting, which was held Friday at the headquarters of the French businessmen association “MEDEF”, Barzani urged French companies to increase their investments in the region, expressing his government’s readiness to provide all forms of coordination and cooperation in this regard.
The newspaper’s observers believe that talk about the possibility of France playing the role of mediator between Baghdad and Erbil has been on the table for some time, but the question remains about its ability to achieve any breakthrough unless accompanied by the will of both the Kurdish and Iraqi sides, which is not yet available.
Observers of the French newspaper report said that the main problem lies in the fact that the coordination framework, which represents the political umbrella of the pro-Iranian forces and is the most powerful party currently in the equation of governance in Iraq, does not seem ready or has a real desire for settlement, which is reflected in its coup against the agreements it concluded with the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which led to the end of the political crisis in Iraq, which lasted for about a year, and resulted in the formation of a government led by Muhammad Shia al-Sudani.
Three Kurdish officials said the agreements included ending the long-running dispute over budget transfers to Erbil and sharing oil revenues between the central government and Kurdistan.
Observers point out that the Iraqi prime minister, who has already pledged to resolve differences with the region, does not actually have the authority to decide on them, as the decision is mainly due to the coordination framework and behind it Iran, which does not hide hostility to the region and has previously launched rocket attacks on it under the pretext of harboring armed opponents.
Observers say that the KDP still maintains the chances of achieving a political breakthrough with Baghdad, but its patience is running out as contentious issues are significantly affecting the economic situation within the region, and the party may find itself unable to pay the salaries of government employees in full after recent decisions by the Federal Court.
According to two Iraqi lawmakers and a Kurdish government official, the Democratic Party could withdraw its support for the federal government if Sudanese fails to deliver on its pledges to resolve existing conflicts.
A Democratic Party official said after forming the government last year that the Kurds wanted to end the stalemate and therefore supported Sudan’s government, but if the other side failed to deliver what was required of it, they would withdraw that support.
Democratic Party spokesman Shawan Taha said: “There are some political forces that are trying to break our will and we reject this and we will not allow it.”
In January, Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court ruled that Baghdad government orders to transfer funds to the KRG to pay salaries for 2021 and 2022 were illegal because they violated Iraq’s budget law.
An adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity, said al-Sudani had tasked the cabinet’s legal team with finding a solution to allow salary transfers without violating the court’s ruling.
Other politicians in al-Sudani’s camp see escalation with the Kurds by using such court rulings as a necessary political tactic to give him a stronger negotiating position, according to members of parliament.
But the KRG spokesman remains hopeful that a compromise can be reached. He noted that the KRG delegation would visit Baghdad again on Sunday. Next
He said that there are obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement with Baghdad, but there is a serious and real intention to reach an agreement on the part of the Kurdistan Regional Government and that it also feels the seriousness of the Sudanese in efforts to resolve those obstacles.
It seemed clear that the spokesman for the Kurdish government is seeking to maintain a degree of positivity to continue the rounds of negotiations with Baghdad, although observers are skeptical that a breakthrough can occur unless accompanied by external impulse.
