Thread: Archive Latest News - Dinar Think Tank - 27/08/08 - 15/01/09

U.S. delegation is visiting Baghdad Tomorrow

Informed sources said that an American delegation will be important during the Baghdad (24) hours. The sources told the independent press (Iba) today, Monday,: "The delegation left the United States and includes senior officials in the U.S. State Department.

Meanwhile, the Joint Information Center told the media on the Iraqi and Arab press conference was held to a senior official in Baghdad tomorrow morning without mentioning the name of this person or office.

The Baghdad had received two days before U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte held meetings with President Jalal Talabani and his two deputies also held talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Kurdistan regional president Massoud Barzani, and visits to the provinces of Anbar and Kirkuk and Mosul.

Negroponte told two days before reaching a consensus on the security agreement to be signed between Iraq and the United States, adding that the date of signature of the Convention has become very close.

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Shahristani: Iraq will accept bids for a new round of Tenders for long-term Oil Contracts

"Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said Iraq would accept bids for a first round of tenders for long-term contracts for six oil fields in March 2009.

Shahristani said in press statements that Iraq plans to open a second round of bids for long-term oil contracts in December 2008.

He said al-Shahristani, who will meet in London next week with 35 oil companies qualified to participate in the first round of bidding criteria that progress will depend on offers lower cost of the cut-off in addition to the ability to increase production and maintain production in the long term.

http://66.102.9.104/translate_c?hl=e...155CLE723JimWA

Update.......

Iraq and Egypt boost oil cooperation

Iraq and Egypt has agreed to rehabilitate the country’s oil infrastructure under a deal that will see Egyptian firms actively working in the country for the first time since the 2003-U.S. invasion.

The agreement is one of the fruits of the surprise visit by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit to Iraq on Sunday.

“The Ministry of Oil has struck deals with several Egyptian foreign firms to revive the country’s oil sector and extend help in areas of digging, extension of pipelines and construction of oil installations,” a ministry statement faxed to the newspaper said.

Egypt’s Energy Minister Sameh Fahmi was I the delegation that accompanied Gheit to Baghdad.

Fahmi held meetings with his Iraqi counterpart, Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani which concentrated on practical steps that make it easy for “Egyptian firms to develop Iraqi oil companies.”

Egypt has said it would soon reopen its embassy in Baghdad.

Under one of the deals Egyptian firms are to rehabilitate natural gas installations in Baiji, north of Baghdad.

Baiji is the site of the largest Iraqi refinery complex with a capacity of more than 350,000 barrels a day.

The Egyptians are also to build 20 filling stations in the country and hold training courses for Iraqi oil personnel.

Azzaman in English

Drop in dollar demand on Wed.

Demand for the dollar was down at the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) auction on Wednesday, registering at $187.447 million compared to $238.03 million in the previous session.

"The demand hit $45.435 million in cash and $142.012 million in foreign transfers outside the country, all covered by the bank at a stable exchange rate of 1,179 Iraqi dinars per dollar, unchanged for the 9th session in a row" an official source from the bank told Aswat al-Iraq.

The 16 banks that participated in the session offered to sell $950,000, which the bank bought at an exchange rate of 1,177 Iraqi dinars per dollar.

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

Aswat Aliraq

OAPEC's E.x.e.cutive office meets in Cairo Oct 11

Members of the E.x.e.cutive Office of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) meet in Cairo next Saturday to discuss, among other things, the 2009 budget.

A statement by the Cairo-based OAPEC said Tuesday the participants would discuss the organization's scientific research award for 2010.

OAPEC consists of 10 countries: Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Algeria, Libya, Syria, Egypt and Bahrain.

OAPEC's ****utive office meets in Cairo Oct 11

Electing managerial body of Arbil stock exchange Wednesday

The managerial authority of the Arbil stock exchange market will be elected on Wednesday after receiving an agreement from the higher committee of the Iraqi stock exchange for establishing it, a member of the founding committee said on Tuesday.

"The higher committee of Iraq's stock exchange's instructions stipulate the necessity for the Arbil stock market to abide by the instructions of the Iraqi authority for financial markets and modern companies' capital must not be less than $0.8333 million,: Hassan Baqi Horami told Aswat al-Iraq.

Arbil, also written Erbil or Irbil, is believed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited in the world and is one of the largest cities in Iraq. The city lies eighty kilometers (fifty miles) east of Mosul. In 2005, its estimated population was 990,000 inhabitants. The city is the capital of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). It hosts the headquarters of the Kurdistan region ministers and parliament.

Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, only isolated, sporadic violence has hit Arbil, unlike many other areas of Iraq. Parallel bomb attacks against the Eid celebrations arranged by the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and KRG President Massoud Barazani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) killed 109 people on February 1, 2004. Responsibility was claimed by the Islamist group Ansar al-Sunnah, and stated to be in solidarity with the Kurdish Islamist faction Ansar al-Islam. Another bombing on May 4, 2005 killed 60 civilians. Despite these bombings the population generally feels safe.

Electing managerial body of Arbil stock exchange Wednesday

Iraq ready to replace US troops in Baghdad: ministry

Iraq said on Wednesday it was ready to take over security responsibilities from US security forces in Baghdad as both countries say they are nearing a deal on their controversial military pact.


Interior ministry spokesman Major General Abdel Karim Khalaf said Iraqi police are capable of handling security duties across the capital, a responsibility now held by US troops.

"We have the ability to take over the internal security responsibility in Baghdad if American forces pull out of the city," he said in a statement. "The interior ministry is able to take responsibility for protecting Baghdad."

His remarks came a day after Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Washington and Baghdad are now "very close" to an agreement on the presence of American troops in the country beyond 2008.

"There have been new ideas and new language that could be acceptable, but no final decision has been made. This needs some bold political decisions now," Zebari said on Tuesday.

Zebari was speaking at a press conference with visiting US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte shortly after two bombs went off just outside the Green Zone, leaving at least seven people, including an Iraqi soldier, injured.

The interior ministry said there had been an increase in the number of car bombs and roadside blasts in Baghdad since the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, but claimed this did not mean a breakdown of security.

"An increase in car bomb attacks and IED (improvised explosive device) attacks, particularly since Ramadan (last month) does not mean that security forces failed," the statement said.

Khalaf said Iraqi security services lacked explosive detectors to prevent car bombs, but otherwise had been effective in reducing the overall level of violence in the country, which is said to be at a four-year low.

The ministry "is seeking with some provincial councils to import such devices and technologies to cover all areas of Baghdad and other provinces," he said.

The US military has handed over security responsibilities in 11 of the 18 provinces in Iraq since June 2006. The gradual process started with the southern Shiite province of Muthanna, which borders Saudi Arabia.
Iraq-US-military-Baghdad

Iraq ready to replace US troops in Baghdad: ministry

Petraeus Says Progress in Iraq Still `Fragile,' Reversible

General David Petraeus warned that the ``fragile'' progress in Iraq is threatened by the potential for political or ethnic violence as the nation rebuilds and the U.S. scales back its presence there.

Among the looming challenges, according to Petraeus, is integrating almost 100,000 Sunni Muslims who joined with U.S. troops to combat al-Qaeda in Iraq into the military and police forces of the Shiite-led government. Also important is ensuring Iraqi security forces are strong enough to prevent terrorists and Iranian-backed so-called ``special groups'' from regaining territory they've lost.

``The progress does remain fragile and does remain reversible,'' Petraeus, who left the post top American military officer in Iraq to take over as head of U.S. Central Command, told the Association of the U.S. Army in Washington today.

Petraeus also said that progress might be set back by violence during provincial elections he anticipates will occur by Jan. 30, discord over the status of forces agreement being negotiated with the U.S., the return of nearly two million displaced families and ``various ethnic disputes'' among Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites over oil-rich Kirkuk in the North.

Petraeus also discussed recent successes in Iraq, including an 80 percent reduction in attacks by insurgents and terrorists, increased oil and electrical production and legislation setting the stage for provincial elections.

`Substantial Progress'

``There's no question about the very substantial progress that has taken place in Iraq in the last 15 to 18 months,'' Petraeus said during a 70-minute review of U.S. operations in Iraq.

Petraeus, 55, oversaw a revamping of the U.S. strategy in Iraq that emphasized using counterinsurgency tactics and added 30,000 more Army and Marine combat and support personnel to the forces already there. The new strategy, along with Iraq's Sunni population turning against al-Qaeda and a cease-fire by Iraq's most violent Shiite militias, is credited with reducing violence in the country.

Some of the extra troops are now being withdrawn from Iraq as the U.S. puts a greater focus on Afghanistan. President George W. Bush last month said U.S. forces in Iraq will drop to 138,000 by February from about 146,000 now.

PUKmedia :: English - Petraeus Says Progress in Iraq Still `Fragile,' Reversible

A strategic agreement between the Kurdish government and the U.N

A strategic agreement will be signed between the Kurdish government and the U.N.

Kurdistan region's coordinator for U.N. affairs said on Tuesday that a strategic agreement will be signed between the Kurdish government and the U.N. for cooperation in a number of services fields.

"A delegation from the U.N. headed by Deputy Secretary General David Sherrar will arrive in Erbil, the Iraqi Kurdistan's capital next week to sign a strategic agreement with the Kurdish government," Dindar Zebari told VOI.

"The agreement aims to help the region in health, agriculture and education fields in three years between 2008 until 2010," he added.

"The agreement is an important step to boost relations between Iraq's Kurdistan region and the U.N.," he also said, noting that Deputy Prime Minister of Kurdistan Omar Fatah will sign the agreement with the U.N. delegation.

"The U.N. had signed a similar agreement with the Iraqi government last month," Zebari highlighted.

PUKmedia :: English - A strategic agreement between the Kurdish government and the U.N

ATM .. A new way to provide banking services to citizens, but..

.......................today we opened another section of this technology in the world of finance, banking and using the (cash or shameful ATM) has started using this technology Sulaymaniyah, where the recent spread of these agencies in the Public streets, squares and crowded markets to provide service to other citizens is new to our society, where the number of countries in the world to use, and to identify the equipment and services specifications (ATM) went to the bank said Warka Bank for himself only provide such a service from other banks, including even the public.

She met (long) Muhannad Yassin Hamdan, Director of the Bank of Warka Commissioner where he spoke, saying:

- We With global developments in technology, business and money to provide better banking services for citizens, the Msrva installed the latest Maknat processing and ATM services provided after making the body more than 250 throughout Iraq and here in Sulaimaniya, where also linked to «DATA« uniform data as Citizen can or used for the system to withdraw money from any Bbtagueth special place in Iraq from Zakho to Basra.

Yassin said: The citizen who provided the card provides them with speed and safety to receive and to withdraw any amount he wants and anywhere in Iraq, where the services are working round 24 hours (We have the devices in each branch of the bank is more than (95 branches) in Iraq have been installed in crowded places, trade andmarkets and supermarkets.

The LEADER: There are plans being prepared banking and cooperation with government institutions and in Sulaymaniyah where we started cooperation with the Directorate of retirement to provide smart cards for disbursement of salaries and retiree benefits and we are working for more than 3 months to provide this service so far, which included more than) 7 thousands User (and there are plans to include banking service more than) 102 thousand users (We have noted the good turnout at the outset because all the experience needed to define and practice to be normal then ATM Locator because of a Aitakid time as I worked for (24 hours (and the accuracy of the extradition Salaries and the maintenance of currency counterfeiting special categories) of «10 thousand 25 thousand dinars« (and the user can pull what they want according to the toilet.

He added: In order to be equipped with the safety of banking machines at «million for salaries» The cards provide customers accounts at the bank, the Msrva Ejehzhm card free of charge and without any charges or any commission and the amounts in the clouds open and the bank is providing electronic services in other cases of loss Card or inadequate balance of «the field of choices Aobescnz OPTIONS« through SMS and the Internet during office hours and our position to report any case!!

Yassin said: it was impossible to obtain any breakthroughs to a private network and our special bank also is the latest banking systems, software and card equipped with a special system detected any abnormal situation, and the power to draw the card owner can draw from any device for the bank in any place and seek to develop This service Sttkhvv fatigue and hardship and red tape for citizens, especially retirees and to help non-consumption currencies in early and provide flexible withdrawal from any other Iraqi province.

It is seeking other banks to provide such services Kurdistan International Bank, which has installed some of these services start of banking transactions between Erbil and Sulaymaniyah and limited use until the expansion occur in the near future Dilshad Abdul Majid, Director of the Bank of Kurdistan, saying:

- Of services (ATM) services to be introduced modern alternative to trustees in after-times at the most in public places and have access to ATMs of any element of accuracy that any person who requests a certain amount and when money is available to withdraw without any increase or The decrease can choose which category a person wants to draw them and the most heavily traded currencies in which »dinar and the dollar» The second benefit is that ATM cards and use this system, the currency is less than dealt with in general and this reduces the damage cost the state money and huge amounts of money making Alternatives it is natural that much better card system and other benefit is that the ATM Locator where there is the safety of any person can not withdraw any sum of money without the introduction of the PASS WORD any confidential call to the card at the Bank of Kurdistan and there was not a single non-use Staff and customers who have current assets and withdrawal of domestic only.

Now we have an ambitious plan to deploy the devices in all the tourist sites, hotels, public market and at the airport but as you know it's not an easy process, it requires high technology in the (IT) courses in foreign countries have been importing a large number of these services to Kurdistan to provide services to customers And citizens in the city.

In order to identify Echo Thus, the existence of such technology in the lives of retirees Ms. Sabria: What Sinfena this organ, I do not know to read or write, so I do not have that ability to stand more than a minute, and if requested the assistance of one person Will Welcome to the confidence and the Islamization of the card to withdraw me Retirement!!

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