Tishwash: Al-Sudani: The door is open for Kuwait to enter into development projects
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani called on the State of Kuwait, today, Sunday, to invest in vital development road projects in Iraq.
This came during his meeting today in Baghdad with the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Mohammed Al-Zaman.
Al-Sudani pointed out, according to a statement issued by his media office, the depth of relations between the two countries, and the importance of consolidating and expanding them at various levels and stages.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister stressed his aspiration to strengthen constructive bilateral cooperation in several fields, pointing to the available opportunities and the availability of an appropriate investment environment for the work of Arab and foreign companies, including Kuwaiti companies.
The statement quoted Al-Sudani as saying that the door is open for the State of Kuwait to enter into development projects and benefit from the announced investment opportunities, which contributes to strengthening economic integration and interconnected interests between the two countries. link
Tishwash: Iraq Ratings Affirmed At ‘B-/B’; Outlook Stable
Overview
Iraq passed an expansionary three-year budget program in 2023, which will likely lead to rising general government debt.
The country has a history of under-spending on budgetary targets but heightened regional tensions alongside parliamentary elections in late 2025 will pressure fiscal finances.
Despite OPEC+ production cuts continuing into at least the first half of 2025, we expect Iraq’s sizable oil export volumes will support external surpluses and foreign exchange reserves remaining in excess of $100 billion over 2025-2028.
We therefore affirmed our ‘B-/B’ ratings on Iraq. The outlook is stable. link
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Tishwash: Al-Sudani: 2024 expenditures from the investment budget amounted to 25 trillion dinars
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani stressed today, Saturday, the concerted work to transform integrity into a social culture that disavows corruption and besieges it within society.
The Prime Minister’s media office stated in a statement that “Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani sponsored the Internal Control Conference organized by the Federal Financial Supervision Bureau under the slogan (Control is the first line of defense in combating corruption and enhancing transparency).”
The Prime Minister stressed, in his speech, that “the conference aims to enhance the work of internal control and consolidate transparency in the performance of duty, in commitment to the first target in the work of the government program, which is represented by combating corruption, which is a basic criterion for the citizen’s belief in the system and the political process as a whole,” noting “the importance of internal control; as it is the system that corrects the course of the institution’s work and guarantees preventing the waste of public money, and it does not mean bureaucracy and obstruction, but rather an honest and transparent path that deals with the law, its spirit and its goals before implementing its instructions.”
He pointed out that “what was issued by the supreme religious authority last November proved the government’s seriousness in making combating corruption a top priority, and that deviating from this path will affect the performance of the rest of the entitlements in combating unemployment, providing job opportunities, economic reform and services.” He explained that “internal oversight is the first line of defense against corruption, to protect the government institution itself, and to purify its work, and the total amount spent on service projects for ministries and governorates during 2024 amounted to 12 trillion dinars,” adding that “what was achieved during the past two years gave hope to citizens and confidence in the state and optimism that the country is on the right track.”
He explained that “corruption has become like a virus, mutating and adapting itself in light of the measures taken by the oversight bodies, and decisive treatments have been put in place in government work with complete transparency and clarity, and within the framework of the law to combat corruption.”
He continued: “We have made the issue of supporting internal oversight and developing its work at the forefront of the procedural links within the anti-corruption methodology, and the levels of internal auditing have been raised to general directorates to ensure full empowerment in their work in combating corruption,” noting that “we have proceeded to find legal legislation in accordance with the Constitutional Article (108) to regulate the work of the directorates and enhance their independence in performing tasks.”
He added: “We supported the recommendations of the first anti-corruption conference, most notably enhancing the work of internal oversight departments with human resources and competencies,” stressing that “periodic evaluation of the performance of those in senior positions is necessary to ensure the effectiveness and performance of government institutions, to prevent corruption.”
He noted that “we have directed to expedite the resolution and completion of reports, complaints and criminal cases, within the legally specified time limits, and we emphasize following up on issues related to public opinion, large amounts of corruption and senior state employees, to impose legal penalties on those convicted,” stressing “the need to emphasize enhancing confidence in accountability and accountability procedures, to ensure achieving general deterrence.”
The Prime Minister stressed, according to the statement, “the concerted effort to transform integrity into a social culture that disavows corruption and besieges it within society,” indicating “his support for all efforts that revealed small details of corruption and led to the recovery of huge sums of public money.” He added, “We have made the recovery of wanted persons and stolen funds a condition and a file in our international relations, and we support the outcomes of your conference and all blessed national efforts to enforce the law and protect Iraqis’ money.” link
