On Tuesday, the Council of Ministers held its 14th regular session, headed by Prime Minister Muhamma

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[size=52]All Cabinet decisions taken in the session on April 2, 2024[/size]

[size=45]On Tuesday, the Council of Ministers held its 14th regular session, headed by Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, and discussed the topics on the agenda, and also voted on a number of decisions.[/size]
[size=45]A statement from the media office stated:
Today, Tuesday, the Prime Minister, Mr. Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, chaired the fourteenth regular session of the Council of Ministers, during which the general conditions in the country were discussed, and a number of vital files in the economy and services were discussed, in addition to deliberating on the topics on the agenda. and making decisions and recommendations thereon.[/size]
[size=45]In the context of the government’s vision and direction to complete lagging service projects that have been suffering from extinction for years, in various vital and important sectors, by developing solutions to ensure the continuation of work in them, the Council of Ministers approved the following:[/size]
[size=45]1- Increasing the reserve amount and the total cost of the project to build 29 schools of different capacities, using the prefabricated construction method, by 4 schools in Dhi Qar, 7 in Maysan, 5 in Karbala, 3 in Muthanna, 6 in Diwaniyah, and 4 in Najaf,[/size]
[size=45]2- Increasing the total cost of the project (rain conveyor lines/m3, with two lifting stations (46SL) and (47SL), the left side of the city of Mosul, which has been runway since 2012.[/size]
[size=45]3- Increasing the total cost of the component (implementing the second phase of developing the University Corniche in the city of Kut).[/size]
[size=45]4- Increasing the total cost of the furniture furnishing component, in the project to rehabilitate the two buildings of the National Center for Administrative Development and Technology (B and 2A), which has been listed since 2021.[/size]
[size=45]5- Increasing the total cost of the construction component of the Fallujah University Presidency building, which has been listed since 2010.[/size]
[size=45]6- Increasing the total cost of the project (Al-Rashid district sewers) included since 2012, with an increase in the amount of reserve for the component (preparing a study and designs for a sewage treatment station project with rain networks, secondary and main heavy sewers, and lifting stations) in Al-Rashid city, Baghdad Governorate, with preparation, implementation and operation. And maintenance of the first stage.[/size]
[size=45]Based on the directives of the Prime Minister during his reception of a delegation from the people of Qurna District last week, the Council of Ministers agreed that the governorate, in coordination with the Ministry of Planning, complete the procedures for including the project to build a Qurna Hospital with a capacity of (200) beds. In order to proceed with contracting procedures and refer the project to the implementing companies.[/size]
[size=45]In order to facilitate the treatment of the wounded of the Ministry of Interior who lost their limbs during the liberation operations against ISIS terrorist gangs, the Council authorized the Ministry of Interior to contract directly with (Fardalia Company), the exclusive agent of the German company (Autobock) in Iraq, which is concerned with the manufacture and installation of smart prosthetic limbs.[/size]
[size=45]In the same vein, the Council of Ministers approved the draft (Law on the Fund to Support the Families of Martyrs, Missing Persons, Wounded, and Patients of the Counter-Terrorism Service), which was reviewed by the Council of State and referred to the House of Representatives, based on the provisions of the Constitution, taking into account the observations of the Legal Department in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers.[/size]
[size=45]Due to the urgent need for the materials (alum and chlorine) in the projects of the Baghdad Water Department and the water departments in the governorates, the Council agreed to increase the direct purchasing authority granted to the Baghdad Municipality, to become one billion dinars, instead of (500) million dinars, as an exception to the instructions to facilitate the implementation of the provisions of the law. The federal general budget for the three fiscal years, and the same authority is granted to the water departments in the governorates, for the same purpose.[/size]
[size=45]Within the framework of supporting the agricultural sector and farmers and supporting the national product, the Council of Ministers approved the continued receipt of the local wheat crop in full from farmers (within and outside the approved plan) for the current season.[/size]
[size=45]In the energy file, and based on the Federal General Budget Law and the instructions to facilitate its implementation, the Council of Ministers approved the recommendations of the Sovereign Guarantees Committee held on March 24, 2024, regarding the project (Bin Omar gas field investment), according to the following:[/size]
[size=45]1. Amending Cabinet Resolution No. 23693 of 2023 to make the guarantee amount indicated in the aforementioned decision a debt guarantee and not a payment; Because what was stated in the decision represents the amount of the loan payment guarantee with the interest resulting from it according to the economic model of the Bin Omar field gas project and is not a payment guarantee.
2. Issuing a sovereign guarantee (debt guarantee) with interest to the lending banks in a total amount of ($3,246,000,000), with interest, for a period not exceeding (11) years for the Bin Omar field gas project, after the Ministry of Oil/South Gas Company amended the contract, By organizing a contract addendum to determine the scope of the government guarantee.
3. Excluding the aforementioned guarantee from the provisions of Article (17) of the aforementioned instructions.
4. Excluding Halfaya Gas Company from Cabinet Resolution (219 of 2020); Because it is a company that does not have previous accounts, and that it was established for the purpose of establishing (Bin Omar Field Gas Project), provided that Raban Al Safina Company submits the financial accounts for the previous two years to the Ministry of Finance, audited by one of the reputable, accredited auditing companies, after the Halfaya Gas Company submits evidence that it is a branch. From this company.[/size]
[size=45]It was also approved to exclude KEPPT from the qualification criteria and exemption from the instructions for implementing government contracts (2 of 2014), and to extend an exclusive invitation to the company to invest in the Ajeel field only, provided that the company pledges to include within its consortium one of the companies qualified for oil licenses and submits a pledge to do so.[/size]
[size=45]The Council of Ministers approved the recommendations of the Sovereign Guarantees Committee regarding (Al-Khairat Steam Station), according to the following:
1- Granting a debt guarantee for the first phase only (1400 MW), in favor of (Harlow) Company, for the Al-Khairat Thermal Power Station project, and it is effective for 15 years, including... 4 years for the construction period of the station, at an amount of $3 billion, according to the following conditions:
- The Ministry of Electricity signs an addendum to a contract with Harlow Company, which includes transferring ownership of the Al-Khairat Thermal Station to the Ministry of Electricity, after the expiration of the 25-year power purchase contract (BOOT).
– Granting a payment guarantee for the purchase of energy, after the debt guarantee runs out for 15 years, according to the amount of energy that will be purchased for the remaining period of the purchase contract.
– Amending the guarantee for filling the first and second phases (2800 MW), in the event that the completion rate of the first phase reaches 70%, provided that it includes transferring ownership of the first and second phases to the Ministry of Electricity, after the expiration of the term of the energy purchase contract for the two phases.
2- Harlow Company will pay ($10 million) the fees for issuing the guarantee for the Al-Khairat Thermal Power Station project, provided that the project’s financial closing date is December 31, 2024.
3- The guarantee will not be considered effective unless the aforementioned conditions are met by the Ministry of Electricity, and it is presented to the Ministry of Electricity. The Council of Ministers to approve issuing the guarantee.
4- Taking into consideration the requirements set forth in Cabinet Resolutions (476 and 477) of 2021, and Ministerial Energy Council Recommendation No. 162 of 2021.[/size]
[size=45]Based on the directives of the Prime Minister in implementing the government’s approach to supporting the private sector, the Council agreed to the following:[/size]
[size=45]1- Modifying the price of products (naphtha, natural gasoline, and condensates) to include unifying the percentage reduction in their prices to become 50% of the global price of the product prepared for dye factories, and 60% of the global price of the product prepared for hydrogenation, and support will be for investment projects that obtain License, in accordance with the amended Investment Law (13 of 2006), equal to the support granted to approved projects, in accordance with the Industrial Investment Law (20 of 1998).
2- Approval to amend the price of the processed LPG product to include the price of (415 thousand dinars per ton) for the product supplied to the battery recycling and production plant and similar cases of an industrial nature, and to the price of (330 thousand dinars per ton) for the product supplied to modern brick factories. The above prices will be reviewed after one year.[/size]
[size=45]The Council of Ministers also agreed to approve (the mechanism for dealing with contractors’ compensation requests resulting from the implementation of government contracts), submitted by the Ministry of Planning, based on the provisions of the Ministry of Planning Law (19 of 2009), and the controls on the provisions and powers of implementing and following up on investment projects (3 of 2024), The contracting parties must commit to working in accordance with it, as far as compensation resulting from the implementation of government contracts is concerned. The Council also approved the procedures approved for previous years, in accordance with the authority of the Minister of Planning and the head of the contracting party indicated in the budget implementation instructions for previous years, with the addition of the Federal Office of Financial Supervision to the committee that will be composed. At the Ministry of Planning to review applications.
With the aim of reducing external public debt and regulating the borrowing process, the Council approved the recommendation of the Ministerial Council for the Economy (24207) for the year 2024, which included the approval of the Diwaniyah Order Committee’s recommendation 23942, related to external debt. The recommendation included:[/size]
[size=45]1- The Ministry of Planning’s study of projects canceled from loans; To discuss the possibility of including it with funding sources from the federal general budget.
2- The Ministry of Finance will verify the existence of any financial obligations that may result from canceling these projects with the loan donors when implementing the decision.
3- Cancel delayed loans, worth $1.05 billion, and complete important projects from government funding sources.
4- Canceling borrowing requests worth $5.8 billion for the Basra water desalination and sky train projects, financing the first project from the regional development budget, and financing the second project by offering it for investment.
5- Reducing the current external public debt, amounting to $10.5 billion, to $8.9 billion.
6- Redirecting World Bank loans for lagging projects and other surpluses towards implementing the vital railway link project (Faw-Rabia-Fishkhabour).
7- Contracting with an international financial consultant to audit and manage foreign debts in the future.[/size]
[size=45]The Council of Ministers considered other topics on the agenda and took the following decisions:[/size]
[size=45]First: Authorizing the Director General of the General Tax Authority, in the Ministry of Finance, to have the authority to negotiate and initial draft agreements to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion, between the government of the Republic of Iraq and the two governments (the Republic of the Philippines and the Kingdom of Bahrain), based on the provisions of the Constitution, and to prepare the Ministry The necessary authorization document on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Iraq to the Director General of the General Authority for Taxes, in accordance with the approved contexts, and submitting it to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers; In order to obtain the signature of the Prime Minister.[/size]
[size=45]Second: Authorizing the Minister of Justice to negotiate and sign a draft cooperation agreement between the government of the Republic of Iraq and the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in the field of transferring those sentenced to deprivation of liberty, based on the provisions of the Constitution, taking into account fixing the title of the agreement as indicated above, and preparing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the authorization document. necessary on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Iraq to the Minister of Justice, in accordance with the approved contexts, and submitting them to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers; In order to obtain the signature of the Prime Minister.[/size]
[size=45]Third: Approval of the issuance of the system (missions of the formations of the Military Industrialization Authority and their divisions), which was audited by the State Council, based on the provisions of the Constitution, the provisions of the Military Industrialization Authority Law (25 of 2019), and the provisions of the Law on Creating Administrative Formations, Merging them, and Amending their Association (12 of 2011), with Taking into consideration the observations of the Legal Department in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers.[/size]
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