Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 15/04/08 - 26/08/08

Originally Posted by Seaview

Kirkuk Arab bloc: Arabs and Turkmens not meet with Barzani on his visit to Kirkuk

According to a member of the Arab Group's Kirkuk province, said "the members of Arab and Turkmen groups did not meet with the head of the Kurdistan region of Iraq Massoud Barzani," during his visit to the city of Kirkuk this morning.

A member Arab bloc Mohammed Khalil al-Juburi in an interview with "Uzmatik", today, Friday, that "members of Arab and Turkmen groups did not meet with the head of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, because the visit was sudden and fast, has not announced befo*****d."

In the same context, he referred to the Nation that "the issue of Kirkuk now, however, the Iraqi parliament and the crisis cell of Kirkuk, two by taking appropriate solution to the dispute over Kirkuk."

The head of the Kurdistan region Massoud Barzani described his visit to Kirkuk this morning as "carrying a message of love, brotherhood and peace, and call for understanding and resolving problems" and called the press conference he held in Kirkuk, all components to maintain "dialogue and openness," and pointed out that "Kurdish identity of Kirkuk does not deny the identity of Iraq as other cities in the province, Arbil and Sulaymaniyah, it Cardstanih and Iraqi."

Barzani's visit comes at Kirkuk, 260 km north of Baghdad, which arrived in the morning today, Friday, suddenly, amid the political crisis caused by district councils election law, approved by the Iraqi Parliament on 22 July last and Kurds rejected because Article 24 of the holding of elections in the governorate of Kirkuk, While supported by Arabs and Turkmen who believed that this paragraph of the law fair to them.

Paragraph 24 of the Law on Election of provincial assemblies, which discussed the situation in the governorate of Kirkuk, the postponement of elections in the province for six months, with the need to be making in the governorate of Kirkuk through a period of postponement by mutual agreement between the three main components "Arabs - a response - Turkmen", the That power-sharing among them by 32% for each component, while the proportion of 4% given to the Christians, as well as the transfer of the security file in the city, the military units from around the southern and central Iraq, rather than military units currently operating.

Translated version of http://iraqalaan.com/

This is Really Awesome stuff thanks for sharing :)

Demand for dollar goes down in daily auction

Aug. 10 (VOI) - Demand for the dollar dropped one tick in the Central Bank of Iraq's (CBI) auction on Sunday, registering at $90.690 million compared to $190.165 million on Thursday.

"The demand hit $52.655 million in cash and $38.35 million in foreign transfers outside the country, all covered by the bank at an exchange rate of 1,188 Iraqi dinars per dollar, dropping one tick compared to Thursday's session," according to the central bank's daily bulletin received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

The Iraqi dinar rose one tick in comparison to international markets where the dollar saw a rise along with the sterling and euro.

None of the 16 banks that participated in the auction offered to sell dollars, it noted.

The Iraqi Central Bank runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday.

Aswat Aliraq

Turkish companies start implementing public works projects in Iraq-advisor

Aug.10 (VOI) - An Iraqi official on Sunday said his country and Turkey agreed to setting outlines for Turkish companies to implement projects in Iraq.

As well as oil and gas, the major areas of interest are ports and shipping, construction, infrastructure -- including the airport and railways -- and in industries that range from fertiliser production to iron and steel and banking.

"Iraq and Turkey agreed on a timetable for Turkish companies to start implementing work in Iraq," Jassim Mohamed Mulla, an advisor for the minister of public works, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

The Iraqi official noted "Minister of Public Works Riyadh Ghareeb received Turkish Trade Attache Mustafaoglo and discussed means of boosting ties in public works field with Turkey."

"Turkish companies are ready to work in Iraq especially in Najaf and Karbala" Iraqi official cited Mustafaoglo as saying.

The Turkish offical expressed readiness of Turkish investors to "enter the Iraqi markets bridges and highways fields."

Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki has on several occasions expressed his country's wish to open Iraq to international companies to contribute in reconstructing the violence-ravaged country after years of bloody conflicts and sanctions.

Aswat Aliraq

Jordan asks Iraq for more oil price cuts – paper

Jordanian Minister of Energy & Mineral Wealth Khaldoun Qutayshat said his country asked Iraq to offer additional cuts on oil prices to be imported by Jordan in accordance with a memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries, according to the Jordanian newspaper al-Rai.

"Jordan is awaiting an answer it hopes should be positive from the Iraqi sides so that these cuts would be reflected on the selling rates," the minister said in statements to the Jordanian TV as quoted by the Jordanian paper.

"Current preferential prices, in case oil is imported without any obstacles, would go to cover transport costs," said Qutayshat.

Jordan, since the MoU was signed to import Iraqi oil from Kirkuk, has received consignments that did not exceed 166 tanks.

"We have signed the MoU for three coming years and we hope we become able to import Iraqi oil on a regular basis in the future," he said.

According to the MoU, signed in 2006, Iraq would up imported oil from 10,000 to 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) piecemeal but security conditions on the Baghdad-Amman highway encumbered its implementation.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had agreed in a meeting held with his Jordanian counterpart Nader al-Dhahabi to extend the agreement to three years at the same conditions that would grant Jordan preferential prices on its oil imports from Iraq.

Aswat Aliraq

SIIC deputy leader promotes investment

The deputy leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, Ammar al-Hakim, called to encourage investment in the country and to facilitate further growth in the Iraqi economy.

Yesterday, the head of the Shahid al-Mihrab (Martyr of the Pulpit) Foundation, Ammar Al-Hakim, received in his Baghdad-based office the chairman of the National Authority for Investment, Ahmed Redha, calling to encourage investment and to help Iraq rebuild itself, according to a statement published on the council's Web site.

"It is necessary to invest Iraq's significant resources in a manner that serves the interests of the Iraqi people..," the statement quoted al-Hakim as saying.

The Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) (previously known as Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI)) is an Iraqi political party. Its political support comes from the country's Shiite Muslim community. Prior to his assassination in August 2003, the council was led by Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim; its current leader is the ayatollah's brother, Abdelaziz al-Hakim. In light of its gains in both elections and government appointments, the council is one of Iraq's most powerful political parties and the largest party in the Iraqi Council of Representatives.

With the fall of Saddam Hussein after the invasion of Iraq, SIIC quickly rose to prominence in Iraq, working closely with the other Shiite parties. It gained popularity among Shiite Iraqis by providing social services and humanitarian aid, following the pattern of Islamic organizations in other countries such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. SIIC is alleged to receive money and weapons from Iran, and is often accused of being a proxy for Iranian interests. The party leaders have toned down many of the party's public positions and committed it to democracy and peaceful cooperation.

Aswat Aliraq

Demand for dollar rises in daily auction

Demand for the dollar was higher in the Central Bank of Iraq's (CBI) auction on Monday, registering at $168.190 million compared to $90.690 million on Sunday.

"The demand hit $47.920 million in cash and $120.270 million in foreign transfers outside the country, all covered by the bank at an exchange rate of 1,188 Iraqi dinars per dollar, same as yesterday," an official source from the bank told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

None of the 14 banks that participated in the auction offered to sell dollars.

The Iraqi Central Bank runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday.

Aswat Aliraq

Barzani and Ahmadinejad Discuss Reinforcing Bilateral Ties

Today the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Premier, Nechirvan Barzani, and his accompanying delegation separately met with President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani.

The latest political developments in Iraq and the area were discussed during the meeting, where they stressed on boosting joint relations- commercial ties in particular.

On his part, the Iranian President expressed his happiness for the visit by KRG delegation, expressing his readiness to cooperate with the KRG.

“Although until now, a large number of Iranian companies are investing in the Kurdistan region, but that is not enough and there are more opportunities,” ISNA quoted Barzani as saying.
Larijani expressed his county’s readiness to cooperate with Iraq in political and economic aspects, saying that Iran’s main policy is solidarity with Iraq for establishing security in the country.

PUKmedia :: English - Barzani and Ahmadinejad Discuss Reinforcing Bilateral Ties

Iraq, Syria to reopen joint oil pipeline

Iraq and Syria have agreed on terms to revitalize an idle pipeline that used to carry Iraqi crude to Syrian terminals on the Mediterranean, according to an official statement.

The statement issued at the end of a visit by Iraqi Trade Minister Abdulfalah al-Sudani to Syria said oil will flow in the pipeline once repairs to certain sections in Iraqi territory are completed.

Prior to the U.S. invasion of the country, the line carried nearly 300,000 barrels of oil to international markets.

But U.S. bombing of Iraq during the invasion damaged certain parts of the pipeline.

If fully operational, the pipeline can carry as much as 1 million barrels a day. But that capacity is difficult to attain without major repairs and investment.

The deal to jointly work together to have the pipeline running again comes following an agreement the countries signed recently to hike value of bilateral trade to $1 billion a year.

The statement said Iraq was determined to repair the damage on the pipeline in its territory.

Last year Iraq had invited Russia’s Stroytransgaz to submit an offer to re-activate the pipeline.

It is not clear whether the sides have reached an agreement.

http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2008-08-11\kurd.htm

Ministry Of Finance is starting a new Customs Tariff Bill

The Finance Minister Baqir Jabr Al-Zubaidi made some amendments to the customs tariff bill that would limit the dumping the Iraqi market with imported goods which provided by poor manufacturing , and offer customs facilities to Iraqi and foreign investors at the same time.

The Zubaidi declared in a workshop of the General Customs Authority was set up in Baghdad Sunday:

"Bill customs tariff law is very important as it took in consideration even the air conditioner of 8A function in customs tariffs will be limited and little, while we impose higher tariffs on Conditioner operating with 20A.

And investors who allocate a project within the federal budgetary both in the territories or in other projects will be exempted from fee reconstruction and stamp fee. "

For his part, the Director General of the General Authority for Customs Agency Ahmed Jassem al-Attiyah warned that Iraq's reconstruction fee imposed on all imported goods and of 5 per cent had harmed the national industry, explaining that by saying:

"Goods that enter without tariffs and without fees had harmful influence on the work of private and mixed industry because the prices of raw materials and the cost of producing the private sector are higher than we imported , and this law for consumer protection and preservation of the private and mixed sector through the non-admission of goods with the trademark".

As the legal Consultant of the Ministry of Finance Salman Nasser Mkutr that a customs tariff imposed on cigarettes by 25 per cent will reduce the risk to public health also:

"We cared of public health, where imposing tariffs on cigarettes, which could reduce the number of smokers."

It should be noted that the Ministry of Finance set for the first time in the rule of the general budget bill with a figure of 20 in 2008 confirms the return of all imports revenue of Customs in Baghdad and Kurdistan region to the central government as it hit the imports of last year's 164 billion Iraqi dinars as well as 120 billion dinars in the first half of the current year.

Ministry Of Finance is starting a new Customs Tariff Bill

Iraq, China Ready to Revive Major Oil Deal

Iraq's oil ministry said Sunday it plans to resurrect a major oil deal with China that fell apart amid crippling United Nations sanctions and the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion.

Oil minister Hussein Al-Shahristani met with Chinese ambassador Chang Yi to revive the 1997 contract that granted China exploration rights to the Al-Ahdab oil field in the province of Wassit, just south of Baghdad.

"Iraq and China are concerned with completing the agreement to develop Ahdab oil field," a statement from the Iraqi oil ministry said.

The construction of a power station in the province's Al-Najibia was also discussed, Assim Jihad, a spokesman for the ministry told AFP, adding that an Iraqi delegation would travel to China in the next few days to work on the terms.

After China won exploration rights to the al-Ahdab field in 1997, in a deal then valued at 700 million dollars over 23 years, activities were suspended due to UN sanctions and postwar security problems.

Planned oil production was 90,000 barrels per day. State-run China National Petroleum Corp had been expected to win the new exploration rights.

The meeting in Baghdad came after Iraq announced Friday that it was resuming exploration of its immense oil reserves after a break of nearly 20 years.

Iraq wants to ramp up output by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the current average production of 2.5 million bpd, about equal to the amount being pumped before the US-led invasion of March 2003.

At the end of June, the oil ministry threw open six oilfields and two gas fields for international bidding by 41 companies, the contracts for which are expected to be signed in June next year.

The deals, which are service contracts only, pave the way for energy firms based abroad to return to Iraq, 36 years after Saddam Hussein threw them out.

PUKmedia :: English - Iraq, China Ready to Revive Major Oil Deal