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Iraq 2050 Prosperity, stability, and the return of civilization and leadership to Baghdad Saturday - 26 Shaaban 1444 AH - March 18, 2023 AD Issue number [16181] Mohamed Shiaa Al-Sudani * Iraqi Prime Minister These days we are passing the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the former dictatorial regime, including the pains and tragedies that surrounded it, as well as hopes for liberation from oppression and injustice, and a departure towards emancipation and prosperity. The resounding fall of the regime, which took place on such days twenty years ago, was the result of prolonged decades of oppression, tyranny, mismanagement, disregard for the country's capabilities, and underestimation of the Iraqi people and their dignity. The downfall of the regime was an inevitable consequence of the country's management style and its failure to appreciate its strength and the strength of its opponents. Instead of the country embarking on a long-awaited renaissance, it fell into a series of events and problems that countries usually face after emerging from the grip of a reckless authoritarian regime, into a space of freedom and chaos that sometimes reached the point of chaos. These conditions took a lot of time and destroyed many people's hopes for freedom, salvation and progress. The time has come to heal the wounds and move towards a prosperous future for a brave people who deserve all good. Our people have been very patient, sacrificed their dearest possessions, and offered convoys of martyrs for the sake of liberating people and the land and purifying it from the filth of terrorism and tyranny. He was able to formulate a constitution for himself that made the Iraqi man (man and woman) his main focus and central goal, and guaranteed his rights to freedom, dignity and equality. The constitution paved the way for building a state of equal citizenship, which must remain our goal, and we strive for it despite the difficulties and challenges. It also guaranteed the country's sovereignty, independence and preservation of its unity. Our people are waiting for the renaissance, the conditions for which they see are available in their country in the best condition. We do not lack human resources and scientific competencies. We do not lack natural and unnatural wealth, and so does the good land and the eternal rivers; Tigris and Euphrates, and the geographical location, which occupies the most strategic and important locations on the world map. All of this made Iraq enjoy a special place throughout history, and it was a beacon of science, literature and knowledge for centuries, which was visited by scholars and students of knowledge from all over. The time has come for us to evoke these feats as a powerful impetus towards restoring Iraq's role as a country that stands at the forefront of the world's countries. This is not just hopes flirting with the imagination, but must be transformed into a tangible reality, and our people are capable of that with God's help. What we lack is scientific plans and practical programmes. And work to implement it strictly and in all areas. We stand today on the cusp of a new phase that we seek to usher in goodness and prosperity, and we are working hard on that. We have developed an integrated program to address the most pressing problems. And we moved from the first moment to remove the obstacles that hinder the country's movement forward and prevent it from advancing. One of these main barriers was financial and administrative corruption. That is why we took the initiative, from the early days, to target and pursue it, as part of an integrated plan that we will constantly follow up, and target its centers and tools wherever they are. Here, I look forward to helping all benevolent people in and outside the state's circles, and all those keen to stand by the state and its loyal institutions in this confrontation that is no less dangerous than terrorism. We are determined to rebuild Iraq within a clear vision and a drawn road map based on several stages. We have started the first phase by mobilizing the state's energies towards construction, economic reform and combating poverty, as we have made clear in our comprehensive government program in which we set priorities. The second stage is economic, human, military and security development. Despite the great challenges that we face at the internal and external levels, we have the solid will to face the challenges, and the difficult problems and circumstances that our people went through during this period made them more aware and more aware of what really benefits them and sticks to them, and what harms them in terms of conflicts and differences that only lead to failure. and backtracking on all levels. The tribulations and misfortunes faced by the Iraqi people, with all its noble components, increased their faith. Their Iraqi identity is the solid bond that must be adhered to. It has become clear that the sub-identities, no matter how dignified and respected they are, cannot be a substitute for the national identity and the unifying Iraqi tent. There is no glory except under this tent, and there is no dignity for anyone except that all of Iraq be dignified, preserved and raised among the nations. Iraq today is an Iraq reconciled with itself and at peace with others. It does not want to harm anyone, nor does it allow anyone to attack it. An Iraq that wants good for all, and seeks for its people to live at the level that befits it. Iraq needs all its citizens without exception, especially in the current battle of construction. We look forward to serious work and cooperation with all friendly countries and international organizations to overcome the common challenges facing the planet in terms of environment, climate, desertification, increasing sand and dust storms, water shortages, high temperatures, increasing pollution and diseases, increasing poverty and poor services, and other challenges that need To full cooperation between countries to overcome them, especially those challenges that cannot be limited to one place without another and are transboundary in nature. We are aware of the seriousness of these challenges, and we are fully prepared. Rather, we are striving with all our might to create partnerships and join hands among countries to confront them. Iraq opens its arms to every good relationship and good partnership in security, economy or environment and all these areas. We urgently need to diversify sources of income, and not rely on oil revenues as almost the only source to cover budget expenditures. Alternatives such as activating agriculture, industry, tourism, trade, and others are necessary. We have also drawn up plans to encourage internal and external investment and opened the doors to investors and project owners, within a well-thought-out plan and encouraging opportunities. We are aware that the construction and investment movement will need more technical and trained manpower and build more capacities, and we have launched an advanced program in this field called the Leadership Program to help young people gain the necessary expertise and skills without forgetting to build military and security capabilities. Development can only be achieved through internal and external stability. Internal stability means the rule of law and the restriction of weapons to the state. We will not accept that there are weapons outside the state's security and military establishment. As for external stability, it means building regional and international partnerships. As Iraq's strategic location, depth, historical legacy, regional weight, abundance of resources, and influence in the world economy, all of this gives it the ability to play a large role commensurate with its true size, and its good relations with brotherly and friendly countries paved the way for it to build bilateral and multilateral partnerships with many countries of the world, and we still have many of these relations. Finally, I find today a favorable opportunity to launch a comprehensive national campaign for building, reconstruction, and developing services throughout the country. With the help of the people, partners, and friends, we will build a strong and capable Iraq for the coming decades, and we will achieve this in our next plans, which we call "Iraq 2050." * Prime Minister of Iraq

Prime Minister: The budget must be in line with the government programme Tuesday 31 January 2023 22:38 |PoliticalViews: 175 Prime Minister: The budget must be in line with the government program (ninanews-com.translate.goog) Baghdad /Nina/ Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Sudani: "The budget must be in line with the government program and there are projects according to our priorities included in the budget." Al-Sudani said in a televised statement: "We have put real reforms in the 2023 budget." He added: "The delay of the budget has several reasons, and I do not want it like previous budgets." End9

What about the dollar and appointments? Full text of the first television interview with Al-Sudani Al-Eqtesadat News - What about the dollar and appointments? Full text of the first television interview with Al-Sudani (economy-news.net) Economy News-Baghdad Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani confirmed today, Tuesday, that Iraq's financial situation is at its best, reassuring citizens that the dinar is the strongest, and while he pointed out that all possibilities are contained in the exchange rate adjustment, which will discuss the subject of its fluctuations during the visit of an Iraqi government delegation to Washington soon, the government's position on the appointments file in the 2023 budget was resolved, stressing at the same time that the decision to release the accused Nour Zuhair in the case of tax secretariats was not governmental and there are official influential bodies in the government The former is involved in the case, while stressing that security and sensitive positions and positions are outside any investment or political interference and are not subject to quotas. Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani said in an interview with the official channel and followed by "Economy News" that "fluctuations in prices were not the result of a decision by the government, parliament or the Central Bank," noting that "the official rate in the Central Bank is now 1460 and sold in private banks 1470 and not as the same decision that was taken in the 2021 budget, where the conditions were difficult, and in order for the government to secure the amounts required for salaries, this request was made to raise the exchange rate from 1182 to 1450, so prices rose, At the time of raising the dollar, it was a decision of the government and the approval of parliament, but now there is no government decision to raise the exchange rates of the dollar." Al-Sudani explained the reasons for the fluctuations in the exchange rate as "due to international standards and with regard to the relationship between the Central Bank, the US Federal Reserve and the US Treasury Department, and there was an agreed mechanism to control the movement of funds called (compliance standards) of the global banking system, a memorandum signed with the Central Bank two years ago to proceed with these procedures so that the central transfer system is through an electronic platform and is audited," indicating that "the procedures were not at the required level in terms of qualifying banks." by the central bank and the previous government, and private banks and traders were supposed to be prepared for this method." "The Iraqi merchant refrains from going to obtain an import license, open a documentary credit and pay the tax, but rather goes to an exchange company to transfer the money to a certain country and then gets the goods," he said. "We always talk about the existence of forged invoices and the exit of money abroad through smuggling, and this is a reality," al-Sudani said, surprising "imports of up to $ 300 million per day." "This explains that the currency was smuggled abroad, and this was a chronic problem years ago," he said, wondering, "What has stopped life, changed or lost in the markets? Except for the rise in prices in some materials, during the central bank's sale of 30, 40 or 50 million dollars a day, and previously it sold 300, 200, 250 million." "These funds used to come out with forged invoices, as the previous invoices for importing iron covered the whole of Iraq, but these quantities did not enter the country," he said. "This explains that the currency was smuggled abroad, and this was a chronic problem years ago," he said, wondering, "What has stopped life, changed or lost in the markets? Except for the rise in prices in some materials, during the central bank's sale of 30, 40 or 50 million dollars a day, and previously it sold 300, 200, 250 million." "These funds used to come out with forged invoices, as the previous invoices for importing iron covered the whole of Iraq, but these quantities did not enter the country," he said. He added, "The case of proving forgery or smuggling, and in order to prove it legally and issue a judicial order that needs procedures, we hear about allegations of funds transferred to the Kurdistan region and from the region to neighboring countries, and we have been talking with the president of the region in this regard and must cooperate in it." The Prime Minister stressed that "the government has formed specialized security teams in all places, roads and ports, and sonars have been installed in the controls to detect currency smuggling operations," explaining, "The government is serious about measures to prevent currency smuggling, and at the same time reassure the citizen that Iraq's financial situation is in the best cases, and we have a balance, revenues, rounded and budget, and we have the ability to buy any material." Solutions to higher prices He continued, "He directed the Ministry of Trade to exercise its role in importing materials, and there is a committee working for more than a week to import any material needed by the Iraqi market and descend at the official cost price of the dollar," pointing out, "The measures of rising prices will be controlled by the actions of the government and the Central Bank concerned with monetary policy." He continued, "The government will return the price of the dollar to its official status with the habituation of traders and businessmen to the correct trade (legitimate), but who works otherwise his trade is illegal and meetings with businessmen continue and on a weekly basis to solve problems and overcome obstacles in front of them," noting, that "the Ministerial Council of Economy takes decisions weekly to prepare traders, and this preparation is supposed to have been achieved years ago by the Central Bank to accustom traders to the new mechanism," indicating, that "the current government is working on put traders in the official right way." Al-Sudani said: "I assure the citizen not to acquire the dollar, the dinar is the strongest," explaining, "The decision to replace the governor of the Central Bank and the director of the Iraqi Trade Bank was done in a systematic and thoughtful manner and not hasty or emotional, which is within the curriculum followed in the course of our work in the application of the government curriculum, and we will never stop at any official." He stressed that "any official who does not provide solutions to problems is changed," explaining that "changes are continuous in all joints of the state, starting with the minister down to the agent, to the adviser, to the governor, to the head of the authority or the general director, anywhere, and there are no red lines." He added, "The government has granted 3 months to all general managers in the state and the term will expire, and we started the evaluation process and gave us 6 months since the beginning of the vote on the government program for the current ministers, as for the agents and governors, we have also given them 6 months and there will be a scientific professional evaluation based on indicators and there are follow-up committees, and we will announce the results of the evaluation even if the situation requires the replacement of 100 employees according to the exemption order for the evaluation results, and it has been proven that these are unable to take responsibility." Al-Sudani stressed the possibility of "changing ministers in his government," explaining, "So far the picture is not complete, but within 6 months all ministerial cabinets will be subject to evaluation." Official delegation visits Washington The Prime Minister announced that "a high-level Iraqi delegation will visit Washington on the seventh of next February to discuss more than one file, including discussing the fluctuations in the price of the dollar and its mechanism followed according to the new standards." He stressed that "the number of remittances is increasing over time, as traders began to adapt to the new mechanism as the trader is looking for the official price to import his goods and at the same time there is a possibility to buy his goods from the citizen, and I am reassured that the process will proceed properly despite the presence of painful measures that caused concern, but the real reform of the banking and economic system and to preserve public money and prevent it from smuggling and money laundering This is the right way, and the world is going this way and there is not a single dollar coming out of the country except in its right place," he said, pointing out that there are goods entering the country at unreasonable prices with the aim of taking the currency out of the country, and this must stop. Government Curriculum He pointed out that "the priorities of the government curriculum are 5 titles, and one of the most important of those titles is the fight against poverty, and after three months of the government's life, we have achievements to talk about in combating poverty, including: First: The launch of the social research process, which targets one million seven hundred thousand applications submitted for the purpose of inclusion in the social protection network, and this number is not small in the history of Iraq and social protection. Second: Granting a special food basket in quantity and quality to those covered by the social network, which was prepared for the month of January of this year and will continue and is part of the ration card reforms. Third: The budget law will include granting additional cash subsidies that will be distributed to the families of the poor to complete their children's studies in schools and colleges without the prescribed salaries, noting that "these measures come to confront poverty with more than one dimension (living, income, food and education), as well as providing services in poor areas. Service Effort and Housing Projects He continued, "The service effort campaigns are concentrated in poor places to improve the reality of services in those areas," stressing that "housing projects will have the largest share for the poor." He pointed out that "the solution to the housing crisis lies in building integrated cities according to a long-term economic situation that will not burden the citizen in payment, and will be granted to categories for free and other categories in installments over a period of time so that the citizen receives a housing unit in a city that contains decent services, and there is continuous work for three months with the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing and major investors who are able to build these cities in Baghdad and the provinces, and the project will be started soon," pointing out, "The issue of housing in Iraq will witness solutions True according to the vision of building integrated cities that are available to poor citizens and middle-income people." The Prime Minister confirmed the agreement with the International Finance Corporation to rehabilitate Baghdad International Airport. Regarding the achievements of the service effort, Al-Sudani pointed out that "the effort has achieved fast and important services and is moving towards important service contracts, as it entered unserved and populated areas, and we started implementation with simple capabilities, as part of the budget of the Prime Minister's Office of 70 billion dinars was transferred to the effort team, and 15 billion of them have been disbursed so far for projects submitted to deprived areas," explaining that "the next budget will allocate a financial amount of at least 800 billion dinars for this project, except for projects." provided by the provinces." Budget File Regarding the general budget for next year, Al-Sudani stressed that he "wants a budget that is compatible with the government program and not like the previous budgets that were approved, as it is not reasonable to put a program and priorities and the budget in another valley," pointing out, that "all previous mistakes were the incompatibility of the budget with government programs." He pointed out that "there are clear projects within the priorities set within the general budget and this is the first point, and the second is to address many problems throughout the past period, which are related to contracts, wages, installation, etc., and these cost calculations must be included within the budget, and the third is to develop real reforms and important funds have been established, including a fund for the poorest governorates and the Iraq Fund for Development, which we rely on in a real development renaissance to solve the problems of housing and schools, and these things need to be studied to provide a budget that meets what we promised. It is our masses and our people." Regarding determining the exchange rate in the budget, Al-Sudani stressed that "the decision is taken according to the tracks and the economic situation in the country, indicating that "all possibilities are contained in the exchange rate adjustment." Appointments file The Prime Minister pointed out that "lecturers have been in schools voluntarily for years and without pay, and then they were transferred to Resolution 315 by previous governments, and they began to work in this pattern as contracts, and in the budget law for the year 2021, it stipulated that those who have 5 years of contractual service are fixed on the permanent staff, while in the Food Security Law, the years of contractual service have been reduced to two years and above, and there are those who have more than five years and a financial allocation. demands that the law be enforced." He explained that "the previous government asked the ministries to raise the lists of those eligible for confirmation in accordance with the Food Security Law," explaining, "The current government took the decision to install contracts without hesitation, but at the same time we stopped appointments, whether in the form of contracts, wages or even volunteer work." He continued, "Any official government body that issues an order to appoint contracts or wages contrary to the announced decision is referred to the investigation," stressing, that "in the budget law, the appointment will be suspended until further notice, except for medical gradation, indicating that "the government solved problems for employees who have a legal basis with a financial allocation set by the competent ministry and finance accordingly, the decision to install was taken." Deal of the Century Al-Sudani pointed out that "the issue of theft of tax secretariats (theft of the century), a follow-up by me when I was a deputy, that is, before I was prime minister and I have its priorities and I hoped that it would be opened while I was in the government," pointing out, "This file was opened in the time of the previous government." He continued, "The rest of the defendants liquidated their money and fled, except for the accused Nour Zuhair, who was arrested during his attempt to escape," explaining, "The decision to arrest or release him was not a government decision, but rather the judiciary." He stated that "the recent dialogue published with the judge of the Karkh Investigation Court, which specializes in integrity issues, Diaa Jaafar, was a courageous dialogue and explained the dimensions of the case specifically," pointing out, "The uproar raised about this accused, the largest part of which has contrived dimensions, while the other part came to enhance the citizen's reassurance about the past procedures in the case." He stated that "Nour Zuhair is the black box, and he is now under the grip and disposal of the judiciary in the investigation and recovery, as the money he stole distributed to a group of influential politicians, banks, personalities and media," pointing out that "upon his release, he began the process of recovering his money, to return it at the same time to the state." He continued, "These politicians, media and banks denied the existence of funds with them," explaining, "There are influential official bodies in the previous government involved in the case, and the papers and names will be revealed soon by the judiciary." He pointed out that "some of them began to return the money in the form of payments, which are delivered to the judge, and the first payment was initiated," explaining that "the uproar raised by some about his release came because it is not in the interest of these people that Nour remains in prison so as not to demand the money." He pointed out that "Nour Zuhair is accused of stealing one trillion and 600 billion, and it is in the interest of the government to return these amounts," noting that "I support the decision of the judiciary and encourage and support it in recovering funds and holding the accused accountable, as the procedures are clear and are carried out with all transparency." He stated that "the government will not leave the rest of the wanted in the case, and there is a specialized team of security services that is chasing them inside and outside Iraq and they will be recovered," pointing out that "we have now circulated in Interpol arrest warrants in all countries, where we went to France and signed an agreement with the French Anti-Corruption Agency." He pointed out that "Iraq is part of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, as when we are a party to the Convention at the level of the United Nations, it is the duty of each country to extradite the wanted," pointing out, "Our fixed axes in any meeting with any official who comes from abroad is to take measures in the fight against corruption, including the extradition of wanted persons and smuggled funds." He stressed that "there is no criminal far from the hands of justice and will be reached anywhere," pointing out, that "there are employees involved in the case and they are the ones who provided facilities with Nour Zuhair, who took advantage of the chaos of the state, and 3 trillion and 700 billion dinars were stolen." He pointed out that "the laxity in protecting public money is what encouraged theft," pointing out, "There are 5 well-known companies involved in the case, through receipts submitted to the judiciary." He pointed out that "the government previously contracted with an international company to audit guarantees, to verify the stolen amount," pointing out, "The issue of combating corruption is an irreversible decision and work is continuing on it, as the latest of which was the arrest of a network in the tax related to the issue of the deal of the century." Anti-Corruption He stated that "our procedures in the fight against corruption are legal and studied and supported by documents and documents that are investigated and the accused is arrested with evidence," noting that "we have started a qualitative procedure is the disclosure of financial disclosure according to the principle of where did you get this." He continued, "The law will be amended to include anyone who has become unnaturally wealthy by checking his money," explaining, "The money that is stolen is at the disposal of those close to the accused, as the former director of the Tax Authority, who was recently arrested, turned out to have 11 properties in the name of his wife, because of theft, and there are investigations for everyone suspected of involvement in theft." "Corruption is the real threat to the Iraqi state after ISIS, as it disrupts services and all projects and programs," he said, calling on citizens to "cooperate with regulatory bodies in providing real information and not information of defamation, misinformation and falsification, which distract effort and time and cause a backlash, because many honest employees address responsibility, but they fear defamation campaigns led by some corrupt people." He stressed that "there are websites, pages and media channels whose mission is to blackmail officials," pointing out, "The Integrity Commission addressed all satellite channels through the Media and Communications Commission and informed them of the presence of an investigator in each satellite channel in order to collect corruption files revealed by officials in those channels." He pointed out that "Iraq needs a popular and national campaign against corruption, as it is a serious scourge that threatens the state." Funicular Al-Sudani stressed that "the Iraqi citizen is tired of talking about the Baghdad metro and the funicular," explaining that "this project is stalled despite the fact that its designs and study are complete." He stressed that "the issue of the funicular train has been resolved, through an agreement to hold talks between a team from the company concerned and a team from the government to agree on the price," explaining, "In the event of disagreement on the price, a consulting company will be resorted to evaluate the final price in order to include it in the budget." He pointed out that "our visits are carried out according to an agenda that is properly prepared, which includes the interest of Iraq and the other side so that the citizen can touch it." Associated gas He stressed that "the largest number in the budget was allocated to salaries, followed by the electricity sector, because we allocate from 8 to 10 trillion dinars to import gas, when investing the associated gas and filling the need, the amounts allocated to this sector will go to other projects such as housing, health, education and others," explaining, "The gas investment file is the first for me, and there is a personal follow-up by me." "This project includes financial abundance and job opportunities," he said. Faw Port The Prime Minister stressed that "the port of Faw is continuing to be implemented, and this year the implementation rates will be accelerated," noting that "from now on we have started thinking about how to operate the port." He pointed out that "we are communicating with international companies to complete the port and operate it according to modern management," explaining that "our meetings are continuing with the consulting company and the Turkish side to reach an agreement and extend a railway." "Two days before I went to France, I met with the consulting company and the paths were determined and the project was fully delivered with the aim of agreeing with the executing company," he said, noting that "all these projects are strategic and will change the reality of the economy in Iraq." He pointed out that "we are working actively and resolutely in strategic economic projects that make a qualitative leap," noting that "there is an army of specialists and experts working on this." Views 243 Added 2023/01/31 - 10:57 PM Update 2023/02/01 - 1:31 AM