Tishwash: Foreign Minister begins European tour lasting several days and opens two Iraqi embassies
Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein begins a European tour today, Wednesday, that will last for days and witness the opening of two Iraqi embassies.
Hussein said in a press statement that the tour “begins with a visit to Ireland and ends with a visit to France, passing through the Czech Republic and Croatia to meet with senior officials there,” indicating that “this tour aims to strengthen our bilateral relations.”
“We will participate in a number of seminars and conferences,” he added.
Hussein pointed out that “during his tour, he will open the Iraqi embassies in Dublin and Zagreb.” link
Tishwash: Iraq Increases Reserves at IMF by 50%
A meeting of the Iraqi Cabinet this evening approved an increase in Iraq’s quota at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by 831.9 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR), equivalent to 1.45 trillion Iraqi dinars [$1.1 billion] based on the exchange rate as of October 8, 2024.
This 50-percet increase in Iraq’s previous quota will enhance the country’s voting power within the IMF.
The additional allocation will be included in the 2025 budget.
The IMF created SDRs as an international reserve asset to supplement member countries’ official reserves; they are not a currency, but rather a claim on freely usable currencies of IMF member countries. They serve as a potential source of liquidity for IMF member nations.
SDRs represent a weighted basket of major international currencies, and can he held as part of a country’s foreign exchange reserves. Adding SDRs to a country’s international reserves makes it more resilient financially. link
************
Tishwash: Opening of the first center for testing and marking imported gold at Baghdad Airport
The Ministry of Planning opened, today, Tuesday, the first center for examining and marking imported gold jewelry at Baghdad International Airport.
The head of the Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control, Fayyad Muhammad Abdul, said in a statement received by {Euphrates News} a copy of it, that: “The opening of this center came in implementation of the directives of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani and under the direct supervision and continuous follow-up of the Minister of Planning,” indicating that “it is one of four centers in Iraqi airports to examine and mark gold jewelry imported into Iraq by Iraqi merchants.”
He added, “The Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control, the Central Bank of Iraq, the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Office, and the Ministry of Trade now have a single database (electronic platform) to know the movement of gold in Iraq,” noting that “the opening of the gold testing and marking center at Baghdad Airport was preceded by the opening of a similar center at Najaf Airport, then at Basra Airport, and then its opening at Kirkuk Airport.”
Abdul Bin, “These procedures will facilitate the flow of work and shorten the time and date by facilitating the procedures for suppliers of gold bullion and jewelry, as well as activating the supervisory aspect of the device’s work in protecting gold, and thus this matter will have a positive impact on the economic movement in the country.”
He continued, “The devices used in examining and marking gold, Iraq is one of three countries in the region that possess these devices, which are distributed as (3) devices for examination and (3) devices for marking jewelry in each airport,” noting that “the Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control is working to train Iraqi staff in addition to the staff of the organization so that we have a great technical capacity in order to facilitate procedures and protect citizens from fraud.”
For his part, the Assistant Director of Baghdad International Airport, Hussein Ali Hussein, said, “The opening of the jewelry inspection and marking unit came in cooperation between the Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control and the airport administration and will contribute to facilitating procedures at the airport,” indicating that “his administration worked to provide the technical requirements and facilities necessary to complete this technical and technological center and its sustainability, which was recommended by the regulatory authorities.” link
************
Tishwash: The Central Bank reveals the percentage of gold in Iraq’s foreign currency reserves
The Central Bank of Iraq revealed that the contribution of gold inside and outside the country in 2023 is equal to 8.5% of the country’s total foreign currency reserves.
The bank said in a report it recently published and reviewed by “Al-Eqtisad News”, that “the total reserves of the Central Bank of hard currency, whether gold, dollars or foreign currency, at the bank in the year 2023 amounted to 145.257 trillion dinars, an increase of 3.50% over the year 2022, which amounted to 140.086 trillion dinars.”
He added, “The percentage of gold’s contribution to these hard currency reserves amounted to 8.5%, which is equal to 12.293 trillion dinars, an increase of 10.37% compared to the year 2022, which amounted to 11.018 trillion dinars.”
According to the report, “the contribution of balances in foreign banks and in New York to the foreign currency reserve amounts to 91.3%, which is equal to 132.641 trillion dinars,” noting that “the contribution of foreign currency in the Central Bank’s vaults amounts to 0.2%, which is equal to 323 billion dinars.” link
