Tishwash: Here’s what’s happening on Tuesday… The Baghdad-Erbil dialogue is reaching its final stages.
An informed source reported on Saturday that the talks between the central and regional governments have reached their final stages, while indicating that the two sides are close to drafting the final agreement.
The source said in a statement monitored by Al-Masry that “the supposed agreement stipulates the re-exportation of the region’s oil, the latter’s handing over its revenues to the federal government, and the commencement of the settlement of salaries.”
He added, “If a final agreement is reached on the draft agreement, it will be ratified by the Council of Ministers in its session next Tuesday, after which salaries for Kurdistan Region employees will be disbursed.” link
Tishwash: Alaa Al-Fahd: Iraq is entering a new phase, and electronic payments will strengthen the dinar.
Economic expert Alaa Al-Fahd affirmed on Saturday that the Central Bank’s move to establish a national electronic payment company represents a fundamental pillar in promoting financial inclusion and sovereignty over financial transactions within Iraq. He noted that it is part of an integrated strategy to reform the banking system.
Al-Fahd told the Jarida Platform , “This step aims to expand the electronic payment base, enhance public confidence, and reduce reliance on cash through local systems that contribute to strengthening the Iraqi dinar.”
He added, “The project is part of a package of reforms being implemented by Iraq in cooperation with international audit firms, enabling greater flexibility in banking transactions and increasing the volume of electronic trading.” He noted that “the Central Bank’s current approach reflects an accelerated vision to reduce implementation time and achieve real reforms in the banking structure.” link
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Tishwash: Al-Sudani’s advisor: The value of the region’s oil contracts and transportation costs delayed amending the three-year budget law.
The Prime Minister’s Financial Advisor, Mazhar Mohammed Saleh, affirmed that “there is significant and ongoing cooperation between the legislative and executive authorities in monitoring and managing the country’s financial affairs, with understanding, interaction, and optimization of great importance to ensuring the economic stability the country is experiencing.”
Saleh said in a press statement, “Based on the Federal General Budget Law No. 13 of 2023, the three-year budget, the federal financial policy was formed on an approach called (fiscal space), which gave it the high ability to move dozens of approved and previously suspended strategic government projects to implementation.
This is what distinguished it with the high activity of the development wheel in implementing the service projects that the country is witnessing without stopping, and its results became tangible thanks to the success of the three-year budget, in addition to what was approved of major projects that were approved in the 2023 and 2024 budget schedules, which are among the projects that are currently continuing without stopping.”
He pointed out that “the financial compass reading, which required the submission of the 2025 budget tables for legal approval in accordance with Article 77/Second of the Budget Law, was truly delayed for two fundamental reasons. The first is the awaiting of the amendment to the Triennial General Budget Law, which concerns the values of the region’s oil contracts and the costs of transporting its oil, which were not approved until last February. The other reason relates to the fluctuations that global energy markets were exposed to and the effects of global oil prices on the general budget, which also required a re-reading of some financial constants and variables, whether revenues, expenditures, financing the deficit and its sources, more than once due to international geopolitical and economic problems and the major issues that occurred in the global economy at an accelerating pace, which led to the generation of volatile shocks in close periods of the current fiscal year, which necessitated hedging against external shocks.”
He continued, “As far as the rights and entitlements acquired in the operational aspect of the general budget are concerned, which have not been disbursed and are contingent upon the submission of the financial schedules for the year 2025, these are rights protected by law and reserved for those entitled to them, and they are not cancelled by the statute of limitations. It is only a matter of time and will be disbursed once those schedules are approved or any adjustment that does not conflict with the law.”
