Washington Threatens Baghdad With Sanctions If It Does Not Resume Kurdistan Oil Exports Quickly
02/21/2025 Mawazine News – Economy The United States threatened the federal government in Iraq with sanctions on Friday if the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports are not resumed quickly.
Reuters quoted sources as saying: “The administration of President Donald Trump asked Iraq to resume Kurdish oil exports quickly or face sanctions alongside Iran.”
The sources added that “Washington believes that Kurdish oil sales could help reduce crude prices and compensate for the decline in Iranian supplies.”
Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani revealed last Tuesday that Iraq had sent a delegation from the ministry to the Kurdistan Region to agree on a mechanism for delivering and exporting the region’s oil through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
The oil minister said that contact had been made with the region’s Minister of Natural Resources, Kamal Mohammed Salih, to negotiate with the delegation on the mechanism for receiving and exporting oil through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
This came one day after Iraq accelerated the expected date for resuming oil exports from Kurdistan, as the federal oil minister said last Monday that oil exports from the Kurdistan Region could resume within just a week.
Iraq exports between 400,000 and 500,000 barrels per day from fields in the north of the country, in the Kurdistan Region, via the now-defunct Iraq-Turkey pipeline.
Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani said earlier this month that at least 300,000 barrels per day of crude were planned to be transported once operations resumed.
In Iraqi Kurdistan, oil production is between about 280,000 and 300,000 barrels per day, and the regional government estimates its domestic consumption needs — including power generation — at around 110,000 to 120,000 barrels per day. https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=259748
Iraq And The United Nations Discuss The International Cooperation Mechanism To Recover Smuggled Funds
02/21/2025 Mawazine News – Baghdad The Chairman of the Federal Integrity Commission, Mohammed Ali Al-Lami, discussed with the United Nations today, Friday, the international cooperation mechanism to recover smuggled funds.
The Integrity Commission stated in a statement received by Mawazine News, that “the Chairman of the Integrity Commission, Mohammed Ali Al-Lami, discussed with the Deputy Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ghulam Muhammad Ishaq Zai, the international cooperation mechanism to recover smuggled funds.”
According to the statement, the Chairman of the Integrity Commission, Mohammed Ali Al-Lami, said during the meeting that “corruption is a cross-border crime that requires international cooperation to reduce it.”
For his part, the Deputy Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ghulam Muhammad Ishaq Zai, expressed his readiness to “remove the obstacles that prevent Iraq from recovering its smuggled funds.” https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=259725
New Reform Plans For The Banking Sector In Iraq
Time: 2025/02/21 10:51:47 Read: 3,060 times {Economic: Al Furat News} The Prime Minister’s Advisor for Financial Affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, stressed that achieving a unified vision to study the conditions of banks in Iraq requires the integration of the national banking market within a homogeneous framework aimed at enhancing the stability of the national financial system and developing its performance in the areas of credit, digital payments, and financing economic development.
Saleh said in a special statement to {Al Furat News}, “The first vision focuses on the importance of achieving integration between national banks in a way that enhances their role in supporting the Iraqi economy, pointing out that this requires updating the financial infrastructure and adopting modern technologies to meet the requirements of the era.
The second vision, according to the financial advisor, is related to developing two comprehensive reform plans targeting the public and private banking sectors, with the aim of improving the performance of these institutions in accordance with international standards. He explained that the reform will include improving governance and financial management and enhancing transparency, which will facilitate the involvement of Iraqi banks in the global financial relations network.
Saleh added that the direct goal of banking reform is to enable Iraqi banks to deal more effectively with the outside world, ensuring economic openness and attracting foreign investments, as well as strengthening Iraq’s position on the international financial scene.
This trend comes in light of the government’s ongoing efforts to develop the financial sector and enhance its role in achieving sustainable development and supporting the national economy, as banking reform is viewed as an essential step towards achieving these goals. LINK
Oil Prices Rise On Expectations Of Higher US Demand
Friday 21 February 2025 | Economic Number of readings: 298 Baghdad / NINA / Oil prices continued their gains today, Friday, in early Asian trading, and are heading for a weekly rise amid growing expectations of strong demand in the United States after data showed a decline in gasoline and distillate inventories, and prices received support from concerns about disruption to Russian supplies.
Brent crude futures rose 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $76.64 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 17 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $72.65 a barrel, and the two crudes are heading for weekly gains of about three percent.
The US Energy Information Administration said yesterday that crude oil inventories in the United States rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week after seasonal maintenance at refineries led to a decline in refining operations. / https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?key=1187885
Gold Retreats From Record Highs But Heads For Weekly Gains
Friday 21 February 2025 | Economic Number of readings: 329 Baghdad / NINA / Gold prices fell on Friday from the record level it recorded in the previous session, but they are still on track to achieve gains for the eighth consecutive week, supported by safe-haven demand amid concerns about former US President Donald Trump’s plans to impose new tariffs, which could raise trade tensions and increase inflationary pressures.
Spot gold fell 0.4% to $2,927.89 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $2,954.69 on Thursday.
US gold futures also fell 0.5% to $2,942.
Among other precious metals, silver fell 0.4% to $32.79 per ounce, platinum fell 0.8% to $970.28, and palladium fell by the same percentage to $969.84. However, silver recorded a weekly increase of more than 2%, while palladium rose by 1%, while platinum fell by about 1% during the week. / End https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?key=1187887
Reform Committee Announces 22% Growth In Tax Revenues, With Revenues Reaching 4 Trillion Dinars
02/21/2025 Mawazine News – Economy The Higher Committee for Implementing Tax Reform announced today, Friday, a qualitative leap in tax revenues, recording a growth rate of 22%, with revenues reaching 4 trillion dinars during the past year, while indicating that Iraq is on the verge of ending the problem of similar names through an advanced digital system that puts an end to procedural errors.
Khaled Al-Jaberi, a member of the Higher Committee for Implementing Tax Reform, said in a statement to the official agency that “tax revenues for the year 2024 recorded 3.755 trillion Iraqi dinars, in a clear indication of improving tax policies, enhancing collection efficiency, and simplifying administrative procedures,” explaining that “these reforms contributed to reducing corruption, accelerating the completion of transactions, in addition to issuing incentive decisions, such as exempting taxpayers from fines and interest, which prompted many of them to settle their financial dues voluntarily.”
Al-Jaberi pointed out that “the coming period will witness the resolution of three major problems that have long burdened taxpayers, in addition to ending the problem of similar names.
A digital tax inquiry system will be adopted, allowing taxpayers to know their financial status electronically without the need to review the authority. Company data will also be made available electronically to government departments, which enhances transparency, facilitates inquiry processes, and supports the investment environment.”
Al-Jaberi pointed out that “the tax policy in Iraq has faced major challenges, most notably tax evasion, which has led to the budget being deprived of huge revenues, in addition to bureaucracy that hinders the efficiency of collection.”
He pointed out that “the new reforms seek to address these problems by adopting a modern financial system that relies on automation, which reduces human intervention in assessment and collection, and limits the violations that were hindering the tax process.”
Al-Jaberi stressed that “these steps represent a qualitative shift in tax administration, as they contribute to building a more efficient and fair financial system, enhance trust between the state and taxpayers, and prepare the ground for broader reforms in the economic system.”
The member of the Supreme Committee for Implementing Tax Reform pointed out that “these measures reflect the beginning of a new phase, in which taxes are transformed from a burdensome burden into an organized process based on justice and technology, which contributes to achieving sustainable development and supporting the stability of the national economy.” https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=259746
Iraq Invites Japanese Companies To Invest, Confirms Readiness For New Economic Phase
02/21/2025 Mawazine News – Baghdad The Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mohammed Bahr Al-Uloom, confirmed today, Friday, that Japan has contributed to the reconstruction of Iraq with 34 vital projects, while calling on Japanese companies to invest in Iraq.
Bahr Al-Uloom said, during the celebration of the Japanese Emperor’s birthday and the National Day: “The relations between Japan and Iraq are historical and date back to 1939,” praising “the development witnessed by these relations to reach the level of fruitful diplomatic partnership.”
He added that “the name of Japan is associated in the Iraqi memory with the meanings of loyalty, honesty and efficient performance, in addition to the lofty human values that are consistent with our Arab and Islamic values and our ancient civilization in Mesopotamia, especially in the Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations.”
He added that “the high level of civilization that Japan has achieved in the fields of economy, construction, industry and technology was not a coincidence, but rather the result of strenuous efforts made by successive generations of the Japanese people, deriving determination and strength from Japan’s ancient civilization,” explaining that “Japan contributed to supporting the march of freedom and democracy in Iraq after 2003, and participated with its forces in maintaining security and stability in Muthanna Governorate, an unprecedented step that left a unique humanitarian impact on the residents of the governorate.”
He stated that “the two countries share in supporting each other diplomatically in international forums and UN institutions,” noting that “Japan provided grants and development loans to Iraq, which contributed to the construction and rehabilitation of 34 vital projects in various Iraqi cities and regions.
he most prominent of these projects is the establishment project, which is the most recent in the Middle East and the first in Iraq to convert oil waste into high-quality derivatives, which is being implemented by the Southern Refineries Company in cooperation with the leading Japanese company “JGC”, and will provide thousands of job opportunities in Basra Governorate.”
He stressed that “Iraq today faces new horizons of cooperation that carry promising opportunities thanks to its stability and development in the security and economic fields, which makes it a fertile and attractive environment for investment,” calling on “leading Japanese companies to be a strategic partner in this new phase of Iraq’s economic renaissance, inspired by the successful Japanese experience in development and progress.”
Bahr al-Uloom expressed his “admiration for the Japanese development experience,” pointing to “the similarities between the two countries in geopolitical challenges.”
He explained that “Iraq seeks to benefit from the distinguished Japanese model by expanding areas of cooperation and exchange of expertise,” explaining that “the investments of Japanese companies in Iraq are not just a strategic choice, but rather part of the modern economic vision adopted by Iraq under the leadership of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.”
Bahr al-Uloom pointed to “the remarkable growth in trade cooperation between the two countries in recent years,” stressing that “Iraq seeks to enhance this cooperation to include larger projects that have a greater impact on the welfare of the two peoples and the stability of the region.”
He announced “Iraq’s desire to expand areas of partnership,” calling on “Japanese companies and institutions to intensify their presence in Iraq.” https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=259733
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