Thread: Archive News - Iraqi Dinar Think Tank - 06/10/2010 - 24/01/2011

Saleh: Kurds will not be working for the division of Iraq

Tehran - "Weekly": The president of the Kurdistan Regional Government Barham Ahmed Saleh said that the visit by the Iranian capital Tehran was to emphasize the historical ties and common interests as well as the desire to develop economic and trade cooperation between the Kurdistan region of Iraq and Iran.

Saleh said in an exclusive interview with Channel (World) News Tuesday: Iran and Iraq have a common interest in the establishment of Iraqi regime democratic and peaceful with its people and its neighbors, Iraq is engaged in rebuilding what was devastated by the previous tyrannical regime cooperation with our neighbors is important and I assure you that my meetings with officials Iranians were positive and constructive.

He continued: We have emphasized that a group of joint projects including the building of an industrial area near the city of Sulaimaniyah and the establishment of joint industrial zones in border areas including the Haj Omran and Penguin with a view to cooperation between private sectors of Iran and Kurdistan.

On the participation of Kurds in the Iraqi government, which was formed recently and the participation of the Kurds in this government, which was to get nine ministries, Saleh said: that the federal government should represent all Iraqi sects that the presence of Kurds in the government should not determine the number of ministries.

He added: The Kurds have an active and essential role in the Iraqi government and they have a fundamental interest in the success of the new political project in Iraq and to harness the resources of Iraq for the Iraqi people, the Kurdish minister in the central government will be minister for all Iraqis.

He continued: If there WANT to the Kurds and their presence in the central government and their presence in the political decision, it stems from the outdated mindset that Iraq claimed to peril, we are part of this political and social fabric will not accept to go back second-class citizens.

He added: our neighbors in the region and who viewed the Kurds as an instability shows that the opposite is true, and that in this region there will be no stability and calm without approval Kurdish rights and Kurdish identity, that like others in our interest to live in peace and harmony.

On the issue of Kirkuk, said the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government: that Kirkuk was a city of diversity where Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs, Christians, and was an example of coexistence, but the previous regime practiced a policy of ethnic cleansing to expel ethnic Kurds and Turkmen from the city and replace, the Arabs under a policy called Arabization.

Saleh said that Kirkuk is part of Kurdistan as evidence of the historical, geographical, demographic, and said: But can my brother, Turkmen, Arab, to contradict me in this view of the allowance that becomes the subject to the source of the dispute have agreed in the Iraqi constitution on the mechanism to resolve these problems which refer to the people of Kirkuk, the indigenous and accept Bhlhm.

He continued: There is an agreement with the new government and its president to be the application of Article 140 of the Constitution through the roof of a time not exceeding two years.

On the issue of oil contracts signed by the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq with some foreign companies and countries "said Barham Saleh: that some politicians in Baghdad believe in oil policy in the province of Kurdistan, a successful policy and are aware of, yes, there exist differences in views between the Iraqi Oil Ministry and the Kurdistan Regional Government on this issue, but this is not as sharp as some of conflict between Erbil and Baghdad.

He continued: States, European and Middle Eastern and U.S. companies during the last period came to work in the development of infrastructure for the production of oil in the Kurdistan region.

He added: that oil was a disaster for us, and use as a weapon to starve all the Iraqis and destroy them.

On the subject of the survival of U.S. military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan, Barham Salih said: There is a security agreement (between Iraq and the United States) and the Iraqi government committed to full implementation, we have a chance to strengthen our security and must work with all our neighbors to calm the situation so that we can implement this Convention in full, there is a decision Iraq and I expect to be bound by this Convention.

And on statements made by politicians Kurds on the separation of Kurdistan, and specifically what the Kurdish regional president Massoud Barzani recently, the head of the provincial government: that the Kurdish people has the right to self-determination, but the Kurdish people and through their representatives Almentbn approved unit optional with the new Iraqi state Federal democracy.

He added: that the Kurds will not be working for the division of Iraq and the Kurds in the interest of the advancement of this state and its stability and sovereignty.

In response to a question about the position of the Kurds of an organization created in the Iraqi territory, "said Saleh: We have a highly problematic with this organization and there were bloody confrontations between us and this group during the 1991 uprising, there would be no opportunity for any party to use Iraqi territory to threaten the security of the neighbors, you must to solve this problem, which is an element of tension with neighboring Iran and I am optimistic that this issue is resolved in the best manner.

The President of the Regional Government of Kurdistan, Barham Saleh, the head of a delegation from the government last week to visit the Islamic Republic of Iran, met during the visit, which lasted three days senior Iranian officials and discussed with them.

In the framework of his visit to Iran he met Salih Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And Saleh said during the meeting to the prospects of developing relations between the Kurdistan region and neighboring countries, stressing that the province is working to strengthen those relations and the relations between the Kurdistan region and the Islamic Republic is at present undergoing a sophisticated, efforts continued to promote trade and industrial relations cultural relations between the two sides, announcing the establishment of regions industrial regions (Haj Omran and Bashammakh and Pervez Khan) as well as the establishment of huge industrial city of Sulaimaniya, near the support of the Iranian companies.

For his part, Ahmadinejad said: After the fall of Saddam's regime develop our relations with Iraq and the Kurdistan region day after day, stressing that the prosperity of these relations is linked to maintaining the stability of the security situation on both sides, describing the level of relations between the Kurdistan region and the Islamic Republic as good, he was pleased with the developments in Kurdistan region, and praised in this regard, the wise policy of the Kurdish political leadership at the local, regional and international Iraq. During the announcement of the visit, the Iranian side, the construction of an industrial city in Kurdistan.

Kurds today are real partners

Separately, the newspaper Asharq al-Awsat Saleh as saying, "The Kurdistan Region is part of the system constitutional in Iraq, and we are Iraqis, and these visits were coordinated with the federal government, has escorted the Iraqi ambassador in Tehran at all is completely and our visits; as we met with senior Iranian officials , starting with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Shura Council, and a large number of ministers, and discussed the matter in various matters so as to enhance our mutual relations, "noting that the Kurdistan region is the gateway to the good of the whole of Iraq, and our success in the region is in the success of the Iraqi experience and the success of the country, and applies the concept the same on Iraq, we will feel proud and have the success when things evolve positively in the rest of Iraq.

On the relationship between the Territory federal government in Baghdad, Saleh said: Without a doubt, the Kurds are today partners are real in the political decision-making in Baghdad, do not forget that the initiative of regional president, Massoud Barzani, is that put an end to the crisis of government formation, and we are not talking here as Kurds only, but as Iraqis and within a democratic federal constitutional participate in leadership and building it all, and we should be cautious return to the last which dominated the policies of marginalization and injustice practiced against some, Today we live in a new Iraq which is headed by Kurdish Iraq Jalal Talabani who is president of all Iraqis and not for the response only , and we play a role, as for others, in the government of national partnership and should be a deepening of this partnership, "warning that" The federal government faces significant challenges, and must be supported for their success, the failure here is unacceptable, and success is required. "

Regarding the recent statements by Hussein al-Shahristani, deputy prime minister for energy affairs, which he considered which of the agreements signed between the Government of the Territory and the foreign oil companies are illegal and non-technical, the head of the Kurdistan Regional Government: We do not want to be drawn into debates information on this subject, but I say we have a political agreement within the process of government formation and participation in, and these agreements depends on the Iraqi constitution and access to solutions, and we are awaiting the issuance of oil and gas law in the immediate future, noting that "to keep such files are stuck will create a problem for all Iraqis and would deny the Iraqi economy from its own resources, while we in dire need of these resources for the rehabilitation of the economic situation of the Iraqi people and to build the country, and in this regard, I would say that Iraq needs good efforts to resolve problems rather than deepening."

And on statements made by some Kurdish politicians that expressed their fear of rapprochement between the former President of the Government of Iraq Dr. Ayad Allawi, leader of the Iraqi List, and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, leader of the rule of law, and that this convergence will marginalize the role of the Kurds in Baghdad, said Saleh: "This is a great fallacy, Kurdish leadership is supported and supports the convergence between the two brothers dear Allawi and Maliki as representing the two components politicians are important and can not ignore it, and we find in this convergence of great support to the draft national policy, and consider us from the planners and those working for this convergence, which we welcome tags because of the conditions of the success of the government of national partnership which we are an important part of it."

http://translate.google.co.uk/transl...n&hl=&ie=UTF-8

BIC signs memo with American companies

The Basra Investment Commission signed on Wednesday a memorandum of understanding with American companies to set up a world-class modern city in the province, according to a statement of the BIC.

"Basra Investment Commission held a joint conference with a coalition of U.S. companies, JK and Businessmen Union and the Federation of Industries and Chamber of Commerce in Basra for the purpose of identifying the investment atmosphere and signed a joint memorandum of understanding that would facilitate the establishment of a project a world-class modern city (Barakat Park)," said the statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

"The city would import services and manufactured products in America, in addition to providing various types of services to assist in the training and rehabilitation of local employment for the purposes of development planned in the the province."

http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default1....&id=140517&l=1

Approval to open two branches of the "ish Bank" in Iraq, Turkish

This day of network news (HNN) - According to Turkish sources responsible on Wednesday, said Iraq had agreed to open two branches of the Bank "Bank ish" Turkish in Baghdad and Erbil.

According to information from a senior official at the bank, "the Central Bank of Iraq and approved the request of the Bank (ish Bank) of Turkey to open branches in the Iraqi capital Baghdad and the Kurdish regional capital Arbil," explaining that "the bank will review this time, the Kurdistan Regional Government for official approval."

The official said that "the bank plans to open branch in Arbil in the month of March next and to open a branch of Baghdad after him", noting that "he was renting a building for the branch and that the work is still going to end infrastructure", following by saying that he "was appointed Ozer Ato director of the branch in Arbil ".

He said he "will depend on the local cadres in the bank's branch in Arbil will be bringing a number of staff of Turkey."

And economic relations between Turkey and Iraq and the Kurdistan Aqilm a remarkable development in recent years, as Iraq is occupied first place in the Turkish Sadarat over the past year.

http://www.swalefnalhelwa.com/news.p...n=view&id=1039

Iraqi MP expects a "return" to the federal budget the government again

According to a member of the coalition of Kurdish blocs, Wednesday, that the Council of Representatives may be because the draft federal budget for the current year back to the Council if the prime minister did not address the imbalance on the social use such utilities to the amounts allocated to the three presidencies.

A member of the National Alliance Mohammed Thanks for Kurdistan News Agency (AKnews), that "can not vote in the House of Representatives on the state budget because of the presence of large allocations for social benefits for the three presidencies," noting that "social benefits was the reason behind the return to the Cabinet before."

The thanks that "the Council of Ministers returned yesterday to the House of Representatives a draft federal budget," but he also said, "but objected to a large number of deputies that are read without being part of the agenda and in particular that every member wants to discuss what you'll get the three presidencies of social benefits and which was amended in the budget."

He noted that thanks to the "members of the House of Representatives agreed that the paragraphs are discussed in detail the budget to be the fate of the financial amounts allocated social use such utilities."

He noted that thanks to the "first reading of the draft budget in the House of Representatives which will become clear as to whether you need to modify it or not, and if their need for it will certainly be back again to the Council of Ministers."

He thanks that "members of the House of Representatives vote on the budget, insisting free of slack and the significant waste of public money." He said.

The Presidency of the Council of Representatives decided yesterday to postpone the first reading of a bill to the federal budget on Thursday due to non-completion of some technical matters.

The Iraqi Council of Ministers approved the draft general budget for 2011 a deficit of $ 12 billion will be covered by the amounts retained from the previous year's budget and borrow internally and externally, between the expected income is estimated at 66.7 billion dollars, while expenditures amounted to 78.7 billion dollars, a shortfall of 12 billion dollars.

http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/2/209967/

45 companies qualified for 3rd round of licenses - Oil Minister

More than 45 companies are qualified for the third round of oil licenses, oil minister said on Wednesday.

"The coming round will be bigger than the previous ones due to the improvement of the security and political situation in Iraq,' Abdulkarim al-Luhaiebi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

"There is a new project to improve the daily export level to more than 4.5 million barrels," he added.

"The investment companies know that there are more than 25 million landmines in Iraq, most of them in the southern region," he said, noting that Iraq started to remove these landmines through specialized companies to facilitate the companies' work in these regions.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default1....&id=140521&l=1

Eni and BP to Recover Costs at Zubair and Rumaila

Output at Iraq’s Zubair oilfield has reached 265,000 bpd compared to baseline production of 184,000 bpd and Italy’s Eni and its partners can start to recover investment costs, an oil official said on Wednesday, according to a report from Reuters.

The service contracts that Iraq awarded to international oil companies stipulate that the firms start to be paid once they boost production by 10 percent. Both the Eni group working Zubair and BP and CNPC developing Rumaila have passed the milestone, said Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi, head of the Oil Ministry’s licensing and contracting office.

“Both Eni and BP are qualified to retrieve investment costs,” Ameedi told Reuters. “We will pay them this year.”

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/201...r-and-rumaila/

Joe Biden's seventh visit to Baghdad confirmed the U.S. commitment to security pact

The Joe Biden U.S. vice president to Baghdad to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, according to the White House announced the visit, which was not announced in advance.

In addition to al-Maliki, will meet Biden, former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, and this is the seventh visit by U.S. Vice President in charge of Iraq's President Barack Obama to follow up this file since he took office in January 2009.

The visit comes at a time also provides a security agreement to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq before the end of the year 2011, but officials from both countries calling for the survival of a small U.S. force in order to provide air support and military assistance.

Stationed about 50 thousand U.S. troops currently in Iraq under the power of advice and assistance with Iraqi forces gradually Operations Command, and in the end of November, Biden called for continued U.S. commitment in Iraq, adding that the country still faces major challenges.

The Biden yesterday, Wednesday, to visit for a day and one to Pakistan to ask the authorities in Islamabad to do more efforts to hunt down the Islamist rebels on its territory.

http://www.nakhelnews.com/pages/news.php?nid=5069

Events , my Dear Boy, Events

When asked what represented the greatest challenge for a statesman, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan replied: “Events, my dear boy, events”.

Fifty years later, the same thought must have gone through the mind of Nouri al-Maliki as he prepared to meet the Kuwaiti Prime Minister, Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammed al-Sabah, in an historic meeting in Baghdad, just days after agunfight at sea left a Kuwaiti coast guard dead and an Iraqi fishing vessel sunk.

But considering the ‘history’ between the two countries, and the continuing differences of opinion over reparations and border areas, the visit was potentially very significant and is expected to lead to a further improvement in the relationship between the two neighbours.

Iraq’s internal challenges, including the return of Muqtada al-Sadr and his confrontational rhetoric, will also require al-Maliki’s attention, but the increasing price of oil should at least give him more room for manoeuvre as regards expenditure.

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/201...ar-boy-events/

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki meets U.S. Vice President Mr. Joe Biden

His Excellency Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki at his office today, the official U.S. Vice President Mr. Joe Biden and his accompanying delegation.

He stressed during the meeting, the need to develop relations between Iraq and the United States in various areas by activating the strategic framework agreement, calling to start meetings immediately to the joint higher committee between the two sides, for the purpose of further bilateral cooperation, and stressing the importance of holding direct meetings between the ministers concerned from both countries in order to set the agenda be discussed at meetings of the High Joint Committee.

And the price of Mr. Prime Minister, the efforts of the U.S. administration, particularly Vice President Almtmthelp support Iraq to get rid of international sanctions and out of Chapter VII.

He stressed Iraq's ability to meet the challenges to his way, whether on the level of security, political or otherwise, pointing out that the Iraqis are going to achieve their goals and what they see as necessary for the development of their country, although one could not stop them from achieving it

For his part, congratulated the Vice President, Mr. Prime Minister on the occasion of forming a government of national partnership, and hoped for Excellence in its functions and achieve the ambitions and aspirations of the Iraqi people.

He praised Mr. Joe Biden, the progress made in Iraq, particularly at the political, security, and said: "This progress has become clear and concrete in all parts of the world.

The U.S. Vice President The states that were reluctant to support Iraq, has now become urgent to enter Iraq and looks forward to provide the appropriate opportunity to cooperate with him and work.

He said U.S. Vice-President: The United States is serious about activating the strategic framework agreement, and preparations have already started, have tasked the ministers concerned in agriculture, industry, science and others, to support Iraq and build bridges of cooperation in these areas once they are agreed with the Iraqi side.

And Mr. Joe Biden that the position of UN Security Council and its last resolution on the lifting of some sanctions on Iraq is the result of the fruits of this cooperation, reiterated U.S. resolve to support Iraq and build long-term bilateral cooperation.

http://nahrain.com/d/news/11/01/110113cb.htm

Check transport conference to facilitate the work of oil companies

The Ministry of Transport, Wednesday, a conference to facilitate the work of oil companies as part of making the work of these companies, a national task.

The Director General of Ministry of Oil Abdul Karim Laibi told (Voices of Iraq) that the ministry has made efforts in the first licensing round and the second and reached to the conclusion of contracts that require additional initiative during the next five years.

He added that the oil ministry will work to facilitate the work of these companies, and to the concerned parties to contracts, the oil ministry, working to facilitate the work of companies for the success of the investment process in Iraq.

http://radionawa.com/Ar/NewsDetailN....105&LinkID=155