Al-Sudani Asks The Trump Administration To Continue Granting Iraq An Exemption From Importing Iranian Gas
Energy Economy News – Baghdad Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani called on Friday on the administration of US President Donald Trump to continue exempting Iraq from importing Iranian gas after the decision to cancel it.
US President Donald Trump recently cancelled the exemption granted to Iraq to import electricity and gas from Iran, as part of the new package of sanctions on Iran.
Al-Sudani said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, “The previous (US) administration gave us an exemption from these sanctions,” adding that “our government did not just request an exemption, but we also took the initiative to invest in the associated gas.”
He added, “Iraq has a clear vision. In 2028, gas imports will end, and there will be clear energy independence,” stressing that “in the end, we need this exception to continue throughout this period.”
Al-Sudani also pointed out that Iraq has begun “the process of linking energy with neighboring countries in order to cover our needs, and this is part of the concept of integration that we seek with our brothers.”
He continued by saying, “The connection with Jordan has been implemented and currently western Iraq is being supplied with energy. It is hoped that during this year the connection with Kuwait and the Gulf group will be completed. We have also started contracting for the connection between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The connection with Turkey has also been implemented and we have started receiving energy and as a result from the European Union.”
The Prime Minister continued, “The Iraqi government has found solutions, and we certainly expect our friends in the United States to understand the government’s plans so that they will allow us to continue to use Iranian gas until our projects are completed, in which any imported gas will be dispensed with.”
For many years, Iraq has relied on importing electricity and gas from Iran, especially during the peak of summer, and thus relies on the ongoing American exemptions, which are issued more than once each year.
Recently, Iraq has moved to import gas from Turkmenistan, and it will also pass through Iranian pipelines, but it has not yet been implemented due to logistical and financial problems.
https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=52592
Iraq Announces A Decrease In Its External Debt And An Increase In Its GDP
Economy | 08:06 – 06/02/2025 Mawazine News – Baghdad Technical advisor to the Prime Minister, Mohammed Sahib Al-Daraji, confirmed today, Thursday, that the volume of investments in Iraq amounts to about 60 billion dollars, while revealing a decrease in the external debt to 9.8 billion dollars.
Al-Daraji said in a statement to the official agency, which was followed by (Mawazine News): “Iraq’s gross domestic product exceeded $260 billion, which makes the ratio of external debt compared to the domestic product at a very low level, which opens the door to a new phase of external financing, but with studied conditions,” noting that “Iraq’s external public debt witnessed a significant decrease, as it decreased from $20.9 billion to $9.8 billion.”
He stressed, “The importance of financing being directed towards productive projects capable of paying their debts on their own, instead of focusing on consumer or ill-considered projects.”
Regarding current investments, Al-Daraji indicated that “the volume of local and foreign investments in Iraq amounts to about $60 billion, most of which is in the real estate and housing sector, which is a good thing,” stressing, “the need to strengthen the role of the Iraqi investor and support him to diversify investments.”
He pointed out that “there is a large cash mass among citizens outside the banking system, which makes it economically useless if it remains stored in homes,” calling for, “transferring this money to investment projects.” It contributes to transforming them into assets that support the national economy and enhance sustainable development.” https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=259408
$17 Billion In US Oil Imports From 5 Arab Countries In 2024
Economy | 05:11 – 07/02/2025 Mawazine News – Economy A new report by the Energy Research Unit revealed, on Friday, the amount of oil imports to the United States, which amounted to $17 billion from 5 Arab countries.
The report showed that US oil imports increased in 2024, with 5 Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia and Iraq, accounting for 9% of the total imports of the world’s largest crude oil consumer.
According to the Energy Research Unit report, US crude oil imports increased by 1.5% year-on-year, to reach 2.36 billion barrels (6.45 million barrels per day) during 2024.
The report stated that the volume of US oil imports from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Libya, the Emirates and Kuwait amounted to nearly 208 million barrels, representing 8.8% of total US imports during the past year.
According to data collected by the Energy Research Unit, the value of US imports from the aforementioned Arab countries amounted to nearly $17.1 billion during 2024. According to the new report, we review the list of the largest Arab oil exporters to the United States during 2024, as follows:
1. Saudi Arabia: 98.14 million barrels.
2. Iraq: 70.51 million barrels.
3. Libya: 16.99 million barrels.
4. UAE: 14.22 million barrels.
5. Kuwait: 7.83 million barrels.
Arab oil exports to the United States from the 5 countries recorded 192 million barrels, equivalent to $16 billion during the first 11 months of 2024, according to periodic data collected by the Energy Research Unit on January 8, 2025. https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=259416
Oil Prices Rise Slightly In Early Asian Trade
Friday 07 February 2025 10:17 | Economic Number of readings: 224 Baghdad / NINA / Oil prices witnessed a slight rise in early Asian trading on Friday.
Brent crude futures rose 15 cents to $74.44 a barrel, and are heading for a 3.2 percent decline this week in the biggest decline since last September.
US West Texas Intermediate crude rose nine cents to $71.70 a barrel, and are heading for a 2.7 percent weekly decline. This will be the first time in five months that prices have fallen for three consecutive weeks. / End2 https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?key=1184240
Gold Nears Sixth Straight Weekly Gain
Friday 07 February 2025 10:16 | Economic Number of readings: 234 Baghdad / NINA / Gold prices maintained their record high levels on Friday and are heading towards recording the sixth consecutive weekly gain.
Spot gold rose 0.1 percent to $2,859.59 per ounce, and has risen more than two percent so far this week. ” Gold had recorded an all-time high of $2,882.16 earlier this week.” US gold futures also rose 0.3 percent to $2,884.20. / End2 https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?key=1184241
National Security Advisor: We Agreed With Washington To End The Coalition Mission In September 2026
Time: 2025/02/07 Read: 2,685 times {Politics: Al Furat News} National Security Adviser, Qasim Al Araji, confirmed the agreement with Washington to end the mission of the international coalition in September 2026.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, confirmed in a press statement yesterday, “We have reached an agreement with the United States that there will be a timetable to end the mission of the international coalition over a period of two years ending in 2026, and then we will move to bilateral security relations.
We have actually started a bilateral dialogue with the United States and the rest of the countries of the international coalition, such as the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy.”
Iraq and the United States announced in a joint statement on September 27, 2024, that the US-led coalition’s military mission in Iraq would end by September 2025, with a transition to bilateral security partnerships.
The joint statement explained that the coalition’s mission will end within 12 months, and no later than the end of September 2025. He added that the coalition’s military mission in Syria will continue until September 2026.
Earlier this month, Baghdad and Washington reached an agreement on the withdrawal of international coalition forces from Iraq, according to a plan that is being implemented in stages.
Sources told Reuters a few days ago that the plan includes the withdrawal of hundreds of US-led coalition forces by next September and the rest by the end of 2026. LINK
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