Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 01/01/08 - 14/04/08

Sulaimani…Seminar on 2008 Kurdistan Budget

Kurdistan Economy Forum and Kurdistan Economists Union organized a seminar on Kurdistan Region’s 2008 budget. The seminar was attended by many experts and members of Kurdistan Parliament.

Mr. Muhammad Kareem Muhammad the head of Kurdistan Economy Forum said “We held this seminar to discuss the issue of Kurdistan Region Budget, as our experience is limited and needs to be developed and widened according to modern aspects as the developed states.”

“recently, we have faced difficulties in application, due to lack of allocations, we will try this year to set the right bases and to dedicate a view to the members of Kurdistan Parliament, consultations on the basic points will be on in order to build an economic system according to information system (DATA) which will be the cornerstone for economic planning in Kurdistan Region”, Mr. Muhammad Kareem Muhammad added.

PUKmedia :: English - Sulaimani…Seminar on 2008 Kurdistan Budget

Turkish Prime Minister: Iraq is Our Economic Partner

After receiving the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, the Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a statement during the banquet held in the honor of the president Talabani and his accompanied delegation.

“The visit, which came amidst a very sensitive time, shared in developing the relations between both countries,” Erdogan said.

“Iraq, which has its own special position, is our friendly and economic partner. If the economic strategy between both countries is fixed, a giant economic power will be made in the region.”

“During the last three years, the size of the joint trade has reached $ 3 billion. We can raise it to $ 10 billion even to 25 billion. That is the duty of both sides."

PUKmedia :: English - Turkish Prime Minister: Iraq is Our Economic Partner

19 Countries to attend Arab Parliamentarians meeting in Arbil

Nineteen out of 22 Arab countries will take part in the Arab parliamentarians conference to be hosted by the city of Arbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region, scheduled for March 11, under the auspices of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, an official said on Saturday.

"Three countries announced they would not attend the conference: Somalia, Comoros and Libya," Nour al-Din Boushkog, the Secretary General of the Arab Parliamentary Union (APU), said in a press conference held in Arbil on Saturday.

"Libya's position regarding the Iraqi Kurdistan is positive and a Libyan official would pay a visit to the (autonomous) region soon," said Boushkog, adding he was still having contacts with Libyan officials to persuade them to participate in the conference.

Boushkog had told VOI last week that he believed Arab presence in the conference would be at a "very good level."

The APU secretary general, a Moroccan, had arrived in Arbil last week to check preparations for the coming meeting on March 11-13.

Established in June 1974 with the aim of consolidating joint Arab action and solidarity, the APU is an organization representing Arab parliaments and shura (consultative) councils.

http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/eng...=2&NrSection=1

Talabani might not attend Arab Summit

A source close to the Presidency Council announced that President Jalal Talabani is not expected till now to participate in the Arab Summit Conference due end of this month. The source explained that the reason President Talabani might not be participating in the Summit for is due to prior commitments to internal issues at the time of the conference, mainly regarding carrying out amendments to the government formation of Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki, which requires consensus between all parties participating in the political process. The same source added that one of Talabani’s two Vices President will represent him in the Arab Summit.

Talabani might not attend Arab Summit | Iraq News | Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network

Iraq Provincial Law causes deep rift

Iraq’s Presidency Council rejection in the name of Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi, to the provincial law has opened new political rows between parliamentarian blocs in general and political parties in the Coalition Bloc in particular. Rejecting Provincial elections law has spurred the rage of Al Sadr Bloc and Daawa Party which affected the three parties deal reached between main political blocs in Parliament which consists of approving three laws in one package including Provincial Law, Pardon law and State Budget Law.

Senior official in the Supreme Council Jalal Din Al Saghir justified that Vice President’s stand results of the ambiguity over some aspects of the law. Al Saghir noted that criticism by certain parliamentarian blocs over the rejection to the law is aimed to create vain political fuzz against the Supreme Council.

Meanwhile, Al Sadr Bloc senior official Abdul Karim Al Salami clarified that approving provincial elections law and holding the latter on time would detach provinces from the Supreme Council control imposed on most provincial seats through appointment. In the same context, Al Sadr Bloc MP Asmaa Al Moussawi affirmed that Shiite parties and blocs in Parliament will not allow any amendment on the law despite that it has been passed back to Parliament.

For his part, Al Daawa Party including Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki warned against serious political consequences of the non approval of Provincial Law which will deepen rift between political blocs and parties. Al Fadhila Party senior official Iyad Al Ani confirmed that results of provincial elections will alter power balance in central and southern Iraq and will lead to redistributing provincial posts according to the proportion of Shiite currents and parties calling at the same time to hold honest elections under the oversight of component committees representing all political parties and currents.

Iraq Provincial Law causes deep rift | Iraq News | Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network

Here we go again.......


Iraq vows to block Oil Contracts signed by Kurds

Baghdad will block any contracts signed by foreign oil companies with Iraqi Kurdish regional authorities, Iraq's Oil Minister Hussein Chahristani said on Saturday.

"All contracts will be handled by the central government," he told a joint press conference in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart Hilmi Guler.

"No contracts signed by any regions in Iraq will be recognised by the government of Iraq. Companies will not be allowed to work on Iraqi territory unless their contract is approved by the central government in Baghdad."

The government in Baghdad and authorities in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq have been at loggerheads over the issue for months.

In November the minister announced he had cancelled around 15 oil contracts signed by the authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan.

In response, Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzan insisted the contracts would be honoured, saying "nobody can cancel contracts signed by Kurdistan", as his government approved the signature of seven more oil contracts.

The autonomous Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq has signed 15 exploration and export contracts with 20 international companies since it passed its own oil law last August, infuriating the Baghdad government.

Chahristani has repeatedly said he considers the contracts "illegal".

He has threatened the companies concerned that they would not in future have the chance to work with the Iraqi government, threats which have so far have not been carried out.

Iraq vows to block oil contracts signed by Kurds - Yahoo! News UK

Talabani urges Turkey to invest in Iraq

Iraq's President Jalal Talabani Saturday urged Turkish businesses to invest massively in Iraq during a visit also aimed at easing tensions following Turkey's cross-border offensive against PKK rebels.

"Our main goal with this visit is to have a strategic, prolonged relation(ship) with Turkey on all levels: economic, trade, oil, political, culture, everything," Talabani told Turkish business leaders on his first trip to Turkey as head of state.

"I can assure you that you have all kinds of support facilities in Iraq, both in Iraqi Kurdistan (and) in the south, in Baghdad," he said, on the second half of a two-day visit to Turkey.

The president's remarks came a day after Talabani and Turkish President Abdullah Gul both vowed to take measures against rebels from Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), following a week-long ground incursion by Ankara into northern Iraq that sharpened tensions between the two countries.

"We are anxious to have our Turkish friends in Iraq for many people, for mutual interest," Talabani added.

The Iraqi president also cited "progress" in the economy of his turmoil-torn country, saying his finance minister Bayan Jabr Solagh "had in his hand more than 25 billion dollars (16.2 billion euros) for investment and for strategic projects."

Meanwhile Turkey's deputy minister for foreign trade, Kursda Tuzmen, said after talks with Iraq's oil minister, Hussein Shahristani, that the two neighbours would conclude "an agreement for a stronger economic partnership" by the end of May.

The accord would aim "to integrate the economies of the two countries as much as possible to form a common zone of prosperity," he said.
"Turkey's priority is to invest in the development of Iraqi gas fields, for import and transit to Europe," he said.

Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler, who also met Shahristani, spoke of plans to build a second pipeline from Iraq's oil centre of Kirkuk to Yumurtalik in southern Turkey.

The Iraqi minister for his part also urged Turkey to invest in his country's energy sector, saying that "Iraq can be a reliable supplier for Turkey."
Turkish exports to Iraq amounted to 2.82 billion dollars last year, while Iraqi imports only came to 650 million, according to Turkish government statistics.

Turkish businesses in Iraq, largely centered around the construction sector, have amassed some 4.2 billion dollars in contracts since 2003.
Tuzmen predicted that two-way trade would total six billion dollars this year and said the target was 20 billion by 2010.

Talabani urges Turkey to invest in Iraq - Yahoo! News UK

IAF Deputy says bloc won't return to govt. soon

A deputy from the Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF) discredited reports that the Sunni bloc would return to the Iraqi government soon, terming these reports as "groundless".

"All reports that the IAF would return to the government soon were groundless because most of the bloc's demands were not implemented so far," Abdul-Kareem al-Samarraie told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
"We haven't received any replies from the government so far on the demands forwarded by the bloc," said Samarraie.

On Friday an IAF legislator had said the IAF will "soon" return to the government in its next lineup after "most" pending issues that prompted it to quit the government of Nouri al-Maliki were solved.

"The IAF's negotiations with the government are still going on, and they made great progress after agreements were reached over most outstanding issues," MP Nour al-Din al-Hayyali told VOI.

Hayyali said the IAF has tabled 11 proposals and the government responded positively to most of them, adding only a few demands are left.

The incumbent government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, formed in April 2006, has been in a quandary after influential political blocs quit it, including the IAF, which had five portfolios and the deputy premier post, the former premier Iyad Allawi's Iraqi National List (INL), which had five portfolios, and before them the Sadrists, or Iraqis loyal to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Saadr, who had six portfolios.

The IAF has been in negotiations with the government for months now to find a way to have its demands met.

"The differences between the IAF and the government do not have to do with getting certain ministries or personal ambitions inasmuch as they revolve around improving the government's performance," Hayyali said.

The IAF, the largest bloc representing Arab Sunnis in Iraq's political process, is composed of three main political organizations and has 44 out of a total 275 seats in the Iraqi parliament, the third largest after the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC)'s 83 seats and the Kurdistan Coalition (KC)'s 55 seats.

The IAF withdrew its five ministers and deputy premier from Maliki's government in August 2007, citing its reasons as being the government's refusal to meet its demands. It linked its return to have some demands, including the release of detainees from Iraqi jails, met.

Aswat Aliraq

Security forces launch Campaign to lift excesses in Baghdad

Iraqi security forces on Saturday launched a massive campaign to lift all excesses set up in Baghdad’s northern suburbs, a security spokesman said.

“Iraqi army 2nd division forces in Baghdad’ western section, Karkh, launched a massive campaign to lift all excesses, barricades, and random kiosks people have installed without legal approval,” Brig. Gen. Qassem Atta, spokesman for Baghdad security plan dubbed as Fardh al-Qanoon (law imposing), told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

The spokesman added, “A number of Baghdad’s mayoralty participated in the campaign.”

Atta pledged to “stop all excesses in Kadhimiya district and Baghdad’s northern suburbs.”

However, the security spokesman did not provide a time line for the campaign and reiterated “its continuity until all excesses have been removed.”

Baghdad has seen a rise in bombs and casualties after enjoying a lull in violence for over five months, security officials attributed some of the bombing to improvised explosive devices planed under street facilities excesses.

On Friday Major General Aboud Qanbar ordered lifting all excesses installed in commercial area of Karrada following a huge double bombing that claimed scores of people on Thursday afternoon.

Aswat Aliraq

Progress made in Iraq Oil oversight: IMF Official

A U.N. watchdog agency cannot say whether all of Iraq’s oil money was properly used but significant progress has been made to improve transparency, an International Monetary Fund official said on Friday.

Bert Keuppens, one of two IMF officials on the United Nation’s International Monitoring and Advisory Board (IAMB), said more than $100 billion has flowed into an Iraq oil fund since it was launched in 2003.
“Our objective was to be able to report that all oil revenues were used for the benefit of the Iraqi people,” Keuppens told IMF Survey publication.

“Because of many shortcomings in a country that is torn apart by war, the IAMB has not been able to unilaterally declare that all oil revenues have been used for the benefit of the Iraqi people. You simply have no control over all oil revenues.”

Oil is the country’s main source of hard currency needed to rebuild after years of mayhem prompted by a 2003 US-led invasion. Proceeds from oil sales pass through the Development Fund for Iraq.

In 2007, oil output was around 2 million barrels, of which three-fourths were exported, amounting to between $25 billion and $30 billion a year in sales, Keuppens said.

The bulk of the money is used for budget support in Iraq and flows through the finance ministry to spending ministries, which are subject to IAMB audits.

Short answer

Asked whether the IAMB had encountered corruption in its work, Keuppens said: “The short answer is yes. Under the circumstances one would expect that.”

However, “significant progress has been made in ensuring that the oil revenues are used for the benefit of the Iraqi people, which was the original objective of the body,” he said.

Keuppens said oil smuggling had been reduced and there were better controls over the oil being pumped out of the ground.
The U.N. Security Council created the IAMB to watch over the stewardship of Iraq’s natural wealth. It includes representatives from the IMF, the United Nations, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the World Bank.

Chris Hemus, who heads the IMF’s safeguards assessments division, said there were still concerns about the lack of a proper metering system for Iraq’s oil in the field and controls in the spending ministries.

He said an Iraqi Committee of Financial Experts (COFE) established in 2006 to follow up on IAMB recommendations for improvements will eventually take over the IAMB’s functions, probably at the end this year.

He said the committee had the expertise and “at this point we expect that COFE would be ready to take on this role”.

“Against that background, we believe that very good progress has been made in addressing the concerns raised by the IAMB,” Hemus said. “It’s not that challenges don’t remain, but progress is being made, and the more important things are being actively addressed, notably the metering.”

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/business/2008/March/business_March262.xml&section=business&col=