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

Saleh:US pact will not harm Iraq sovereignty

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh affirmed that the security agreement held with the United States will not harm Iraq’s sovereignty and negotiations are ongoing between both parties. Saleh made the statements from Istanbul where he met Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the third Turkish Arab economic forum. He affirmed that Iraq is looking forward to the anticipated visit of Turkish Prime Minister to Baghdad which he called as a major and historic visit.

http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News...vereignty.html

Iraqi-Iranian rows over shared oil fields

Shared oil fields with neighboring countries might be the cause of rows over ownership or share of investment. In some cases, fair partnership takes the upper hand according to laws in force. Iraq has a number of shared oil fields with Iran and Kuwait according to Oil Minister Hussein Al Shahristani statements to Al Hayat Newspaper. Shahristani expected to uncover new joint oil fields with Syria and Turkey. He added that international convention in such cases stipulates to reach agreements unifying the fields by choosing a neutral third party such as a world oil company that is willing to invest the field and allocate each party its share. Al Shahristani noted that Iraq has a shared oil field with Kuwait located mostly within Iraqi borders and extended into Kuwaiti territories producing large quantities of oil.

However, Iraq has a problem with Iran over the joint oil field in Al Fakka region in Maysan Province as Iranian border guards are preventing Iraqi architects from investing the oil field saying that there are no border pillars. This fact is unacceptable as these oil fields were inside Iraqi territories essentially while it is known that Iraq had dug these fields, thus, border guards are not allowed to interrupt work of Iraqi architects. Despite that, Iraqi Foreign Ministry agreed with Iran to set border marks, yet, Iran overlooked the proposal in pretext that the region is mined and should be cleared before setting border marks. Al Shahristani revealed that Iraq held talks with Iran in order to agree on a comprising agreement. It has been agreed in principal to adopt a formula for unifying the fields. A committee has been formed to follow and study the agreement, still, Iran stalled in holding meetings, therefore; signing the agreement was delayed. Until its approval, each party is extracting oil according to its capacity and border expansion.

http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News...il-fields.html

Jordan rejects a request to write off Iraqi debt

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan refused to formally request to write off Iraqi debt owed by the Iraqi government amounting to more than one billion dollars

He said Finance Minister Hamad Alexasabh Jordanian newspaper "The Arabs today" Jordan said his country was informed by Iraqi officials in talks that the official debt owed by Iraq did not fall under the terms of Paris Club debt, pointing out that it is in the interest of the Central Bank of Jordan and not the government.

Iraq had been formally submitted a request to visit the debt write-off of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to Jordan last week.

http://66.102.9.104/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&langpair=ar%7Cen&u=http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNewsAr.aspx%3Fid%3D6335&prev=/language_tools

Al-Maliki refused to receive Muqtada al-Sadr in Iran

Sources close to the office of Prime Minister Mr. Guinness Rafidain "that there had been introduced to Mr. Maliki to sit at Muqtada al-Sadr and Mr. al-Maliki had rejected this offer and refused to sit down to Muqtada al-Sadr as outside the law."

These sources, reported that the offer was by the Iranians and request a precondition of Muqtada al-Sadr, who himself faced with Mr. Prime Minister.

They state that legal experts assume the responsibility of Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia in its previous statements and interviews and issuing orders to form a new militia and secret place vulnerable to condemn the judiciary, according to the Anti-Terrorism Act of Iraq.

And say to Mr. Maliki done well to the Iraqi people a whole supports in this regard and calls on all morning and evening, night and day.

Translated version of http://www.alrafedain.net/index.php?show=news&action=article&id=19947

The Japanese government organized a conference for investment in Iraq beginning next July in Amman

The National Authority for Investment, Sunday, the Japanese government will be organized in the Jordanian capital Amman on the first of July next July, a conference for investment in Iraq.

A statement by the body, received the Independent News Agency (Voices of Iraq) a copy of which was Sunday, that "the president of the National Authority for Investment Ahmed Reza, met with Japanese Ambassador Kengjiro Monge in Iraq, and together they reviewed the efforts made by the Japanese government to stimulate investment in Iraq and attracting Japanese companies" .

The statement added that these efforts "the investment in Iraq organized by the Japanese government in collaboration with the National Authority for Investment in Iraq for two days, which will be held in Amman in the first and second month of July next July."

The conference will include, according to the statement, "about 200 participants including representatives of the largest firms and Japanese banks."

Translated version of http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNewsAr.aspx?id=6343

Iraq says ready to include Turkey in energy tenders

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih has expressed willingness to include Turkish companies in new tenders to develop the country’s oil and gas fields, calling Turkey a gateway for Iraq to open up to Europe.

In April, Iraq’s Oil Ministry qualified 35 companies to bid for tenders to develop the nation’s oil and gas fields. Turkey’s state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) was not included in the list, disappointing Ankara.

“I spoke with Energy Minister Hilmi Güler and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and I told them that we have been planning to include some major Turkish companies on the list of companies which will invest in the Iraqi oil sector. Both President [Jalal] Talabani and Prime Minister [Nouri] al-Maliki want Turkish companies to be on this list,” Salih was quoted as saying in an interview with news station NTV over the weekend.

At a high-profile international gathering held in İstanbul last week, Salih said in his address that Iraq was recovering quickly from an authoritarian regime and the US-led war that toppled it, becoming an economically prosperous country integrated with its region and the international community.

This new Iraq, which is now projecting $70 billion in oil revenue in 2008, sees Turkey as a “strategic partner,” he said, emphasizing that without cooperation from other countries Iraq could not meet its huge infrastructural needs on its own. “We see Turkey as a strategic partner, and when I say this, I mean it. This is a strategic choice and Iraq wants to go ahead with it,” he said at the Third Turkish-Arab Economic Forum, in which Erdoğan and Güler also participated.

Iraq says ready to include Turkey in energy tenders

Iraq Welcomes Iran Security Deal

Iraqi Defense Ministry welcomes the memorandum of understanding on security signed by Iran and Iraq during the recent visit of Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki to Tehran.

The agreement focuses on clearing minefields, recovering the remains of killed soldiers and setting border lines between the two countries, the Iraqi press on Saturday quoted the country's Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Mohammed Al-Askari as saying, IRNA reported.

Askari also said that since the victims of explosive devices are mainly civilian people, mine-sweeping operation is of utmost importance.

He also stressed the need for establishing joint committees by the two countries to identify and recover the remains of soldiers killed in the eight year Iran-Iraq war.

Iraq Welcomes Iran Security Deal - Middle East News

Iraq plans to boost its oil tanker fleet

Iraq has invited bids from local and international companies for two new oil tankers and another for chemical products, the Oil Ministry said Monday.

The Basra-based Iraqi Oil Tankers Co. said the ships must have a capacity of 7,000 to 10,000 tons each, while the chemical products must hold 15,000 tons.

Iraq sits on the world's third-largest proven oil reserves with more than 115 billion barrels, but it has struggled to regain its export footing and the industry has been battered since the 2003 U.S. invasion and subsequent violence and sabotage.

The country's fleet of oil tankers also was devastated by tit-for-tat shelling during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and by attacks during the 1991 U.S.-led Gulf War.

Last year, Iraq signed a $65 million contract with China to buy three oil tankers to boost exports.

Two ships, named for Iraq's main rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, have been delivered with a capacity of 13,000 tons each. The delivery of the third is expected later this year.

Iraqi officials hope to increase the nation's oil production from 2.5 million barrels a day to between 4 and 4.5 million barrels a day in the coming five years. Iraq exports slightly more than 2 million barrels per day, according to Oil

Santa Barbara News-Press

Iraqi-Iranian rows over shared oil fields

Shared oil fields with neighboring countries might be the cause of rows over ownership or share of investment. In some cases, fair partnership takes the upper hand according to laws in force. In some cases, fair partnership takes the upper hand according to laws in force. Iraq has a number of shared oil fields with Iran and Kuwait according to Oil Minister Hussein Al Shahristani statements to Al Hayat Newspaper. Iraq has a number of shared oil fields with Iran and Kuwait according to Oil Minister Hussein Al Shahristani statements to Al Hayat Newspaper. Shahristani expected to uncover new joint oil fields with Syria and Turkey. Shahristani expected to uncover new joint oil fields with Syria and Turkey. He added that international convention in such cases stipulates to reach agreements unifying the fields by choosing a neutral third party such as a world oil company that is willing to invest the field and allocate each party its share.

He added that international convention in such cases stipulates to reach agreements unifying the fields by choosing a neutral third party such as a world oil company that is willing to invest the field and allocate each party its share. Al Shahristani noted that Iraq has a shared oil field with Kuwait located mostly within Iraqi borders and extended into Kuwaiti territories producing large quantities of oil. Al Shahristani noted that Iraq has a shared oil field with Kuwait located mostly within Iraqi borders and extended into Kuwaiti territories producing large quantities of oil.

However, Iraq has a problem with Iran over the joint oil field in Al Fakka region in Maysan Province as Iranian border guards are preventing Iraqi architects from investing the oil field saying that there are no border pillars. This fact is unacceptable as these oil fields were inside Iraqi territories essentially while it is known that Iraq had dug these fields, thus, border guards are not allowed to interrupt work of Iraqi architects.

This fact is unacceptable as these oil fields were inside Iraqi territories essentially while it is known that Iraq had dug these fields, thus, border guards are not allowed to interrupt work of Iraqi architects. Despite that, Iraqi Foreign Ministry agreed with Iran to set border marks, yet, Iran overlooked the proposal in pretext that the region is mined and should be cleared before setting border marks.

Despite that, Iraqi Foreign Ministry agreed with Iran to set border marks, yet, Iran overlooked the proposal in pretext that the region is mined and should be cleared before setting border marks. Al Shahristani revealed that Iraq held talks with Iran in order to agree on a comprising agreement. Al Shahristani revealed that Iraq held talks with Iran in order to agree on a comprising agreement.

It has been agreed in principal to adopt a formula for unifying the fields. It has been agreed in principal to adopt a formula for unifying the fields. A committee has been formed to follow and study the agreement, still, Iran stalled in holding meetings, therefore; signing the agreement was delayed. A committee has been formed to follow and study the agreement, still, Iran stalled in holding meetings, therefore; signing the agreement was delayed. Until its approval, each party is extracting oil according to its capacity and border expansion. Until its approval, each party is extracting oil according to its capacity and border expansion.

Translated version of http://www.alsumaria.tv/translate_news.php?lng=en&nc_id=1&n_id=18968

Zebari: Maliki had corrected statements and will sign the Convention

Neighbors - London - and agencies - An Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the agreement long term between Washington and Baghdad signed late July next July, despite difficulties, stressing that negotiations on this long-term agreement are continuing.

He told the CNN that American t.e.l.e.v.i.s.i.o.n. that the talks are still ongoing.

Is not dead in a reference to a future American military presence in Iraq after the expiry of a United Nations resolution in December (December) next. He stressed there is no deadlock.

He explained that the statements of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Amman on Friday and negotiations on the agreement at an impasse had been corrected and clarified.

The al-Maliki announced that talks with Washington on the Status of Forces Agreement will continue despite the arrival of some files to a dead end (..) because they affect the sovereignty of Iraq.

The Zebari, who is participating in the negotiating team know exactly what happened. We have achieved great progress in finishing touches.
But Zebari appeared cautious when addressing someone to give orders, Baghdad or Washington to allow U.S. forces to move.

He continued at this point, we face difficult issues we have to solve, such as sovereign immunity and allow the process of launching a military (...) But there is the flexibility demonstrated by the Working American negotiator in all of these points has offered alternative proposals. That is why negotiations are continuing and promising as well.

He also said I am sure we will manage to sign the Convention on the strategic framework late July (July) next.

When asked to confirm what progress has Zebari said by late July (July).

He pointed out that Iraq is uncertain that the territory would not be used in order to launch offensive operations against its neighbours including Iran.

Replying to a question as to prevent the U.S. from sending fighters from bases in Iraq to attack the camps in Iran train forces hostile to the Americans, he replied with Washington other options because the U.S. military capacity beyond Iraq.

While recognizing that our relations with Iran difficult Zebari stressed that Iraq seeks always to good relations with the Syrian-Iranian.

Translated version of http://www.aljeeran.net/