Al-Sudani orders suspension of work tomorrow, Thursday, and confirms that the region is entering a d

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[size=52]Al-Sudani orders suspension of work tomorrow, Thursday, and confirms that the region is entering a difficult and extremely dangerous phase[/size]

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2024/10/02
The Council of Ministers approves the third round of exams for the intermediate and preparatory stages...
Hussein Al-Saadi:
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani directed the suspension of official work tomorrow, Thursday, on the occasion of Iraqi National Day, and while stressing that the region has entered a difficult and extremely dangerous phase that Iraq had warned of, the Council of Ministers approved the third round of exams for the intermediate and preparatory stages. The
Prime Minister's Media Office stated in a statement: Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani chaired the thirty-ninth regular session of the Council of Ministers, during which the general conditions throughout the country were discussed, and a number of vital files were discussed, in addition to discussing the topics on the agenda and taking the necessary decisions regarding them.
He added: At the beginning of the session, the members of the Council of Ministers recited Surat Al-Fatihah in memory of the soul of the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and the souls of his comrades and all the martyrs who ascended during the sinful Zionist aggression on Lebanon and Gaza.
Al-Sudani pointed out that the region has entered a difficult and extremely dangerous phase, which Iraq had warned of since the events of October 7, 2023, in light of the inability of the international community, with all its international and UN organizations and institutions, and its failure to express any position or agree on a condemnation resolution, while the occupation government continues to commit genocide with the aim of expanding the arena of conflict.
Al-Sudani explained, according to the statement, the political and diplomatic efforts made by the Iraqi delegation in New York, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, where a series of dialogues were held with heads of sisterly and friendly countries, indicating the continuation of contacts with brothers and friends to find a regional and international position to stop the war on Lebanon.
At the national level, meetings were held with various political forces, the last of which was on Monday with the State Administration Coalition, to support the unified Iraqi national position towards the developments witnessed in the region, and to renew the steadfastness of Iraq's principled position in rejecting aggression, and at the same time, the necessity of taking into account the interests of the people and the country in these difficult circumstances, and not to slide the country into the arena of conflict.
The Prime Minister affirmed that Iraq will continue to provide humanitarian needs to our brothers in Lebanon and Palestine, praising the donation campaign organized by the holy religious shrines, ministries and personalities, and the great response of our people.
He pointed to the continuation of relief efforts for our brothers in Lebanon, in light of the wave of displacement and oppression practiced by the occupation, explaining that the government has sent aid to Lebanon since the beginning of the crisis, including food supplies, medicines and ambulances.
According to the statement, the Council of Ministers continued to consider the agenda of the session, where the Prime Minister directed that October 3 be an official holiday on the occasion of the National Day of the Republic of Iraq, with the suspension of any celebration on this occasion, in solidarity with our brothers in Lebanon and Palestine, who are exposed to attacks and force majeure.
He stated that in response to the directives of the supreme authority in Najaf, and in implementation of the desire of our people to participate in providing relief to the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples, who are exposed to difficult circumstances due to the sinful Zionist aggression, and in continuation of the government’s approach in supporting our brothers in Lebanon and Gaza, and in order to organize humanitarian relief campaigns, the Council of Ministers approved the following:
1. Opening two bank accounts available to all citizens and institutions for the purpose of receiving financial donations and officially recording them, and spending them on humanitarian relief work for the people of Gaza and Lebanon. This will be under the supervision of the Prime Minister.
2. All departments that received donations will deposit them in the new bank accounts, and the Federal Financial Supervision Bureau will monitor and audit the accounts.
3. The Council of Ministers also approved allocating an amount of 40 billion dinars, from the emergency reserve and from the financial budget allocations, to each of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Trade, and the Iraqi Red Crescent Society, to provide relief supplies to the people of Gaza and Lebanon, to be determined by the Supreme Committee formed in the Prime Minister’s Office, and to be purchased by the aforementioned parties, as an exception to the instructions for implementing government contracts and the instructions for facilitating the implementation of the budget.
In the educational field, the Council of Ministers approved, according to the statement, holding third-term exams for students who failed in the second term of the academic year (2023-2024), for all lessons for the third intermediate grade, and for three lessons for the sixth preparatory grade, with the payment of 25 thousand dinars for each subject in which the student takes the exam, and those who failed due to cheating are exempted from taking the exams, and they are not allowed to take the exams.
As part of the government's efforts to follow up on the completion of stalled projects and infrastructure projects, the Council of Ministers approved the following:
1. Increasing the reserve for the contracting project (building a government complex in Al-Rayhana District) in Anbar Governorate.
2. Adjusting the cost and increasing the reserve for the project (establishing a storage complex in Diwaniyah).
3. Creating a component (16-knot liquefied gas pipeline, Nasiriyah - Hilla), within the project (improving pipe networks).
4. Increasing the reserve amount and the total cost for the two contracts (establishing a hospital with a capacity of (200) beds in each of the districts; Al-Qaim and Haditha).
5. Increase the total cost of projects (establishing 3 teaching hospitals with a capacity of 400 beds, in the governorates of (Kirkuk, Muthanna, and Wasit), and 4 general hospitals with a capacity of 100 beds in Salah al-Din Governorate, in the districts of; Dujail, Al-Dour, Samarra, and Al-Tawz.
6. Increase the total cost and reserve for the 200-bed hospital project in Heet in Anbar Governorate.
7. Increase the cost and reserve amount for the project (Rehabilitation of the feeder of Al-Sudair villages from Al-Sudair station / Contract 18 for the year 2019) in Diwaniyah.
8. Increase the reserve for the contract for the project (Building a model school with 18 classrooms in Fallujah / Al-Shuhada neighborhood) included as a component within the components of the project (Establishing model schools with 18 classrooms throughout the governorate, number (18) with the establishment of a school (24) classrooms and (12) classrooms) model / Ramadi, Fallujah, Ana, Al-Qaim, Rawah, Heet, Haditha, Rutba, Al-Karma).
9. Regarding the Najaf Governorate Sewerage Project/M2, the Prime Minister directed the formation of a committee to review the replacement orders for the project, submitted by the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Municipalities, and to submit the necessary proposals to address the obstacles, within 30 days, to the Council of Ministers.
The Cabinet approved amending the second paragraph of its decision (165 of 2019) regarding the sale of state-owned residential floors and apartments, to include the payment of the remaining and previously overdue sale consideration, owed by citizen employees, in equal installments over a period not exceeding (35) years from the date of sale, based on the amended Law on the Sale and Lease of State Property No. 21 of 2013, and does not entail the recovery of any amounts previously paid to the state, and the full remaining amount shall be paid in the event that the property is sold to another person, provided that this decision is implemented from the date of its issuance.
Within the file of financial reforms, the Cabinet approved the allocation of 4 billion dinars to the Securities and Exchange Commission; for the purpose of financing the project to update and maintain the electronic systems for implementing trading in stocks and bonds, and exempting the project from the contracting methods stipulated in the instructions for implementing government contracts, for the purpose of contracting with the American company (Nasdaq OMAX).
The Council also approved increasing the capital of the Trade Bank of Iraq by 500 billion dinars from the profits achieved, and amending Cabinet Resolution (24011 of 2024) to include the merger of the Agricultural Bank and the Real Estate Bank only. It also approved the Ministry of Finance taking appropriate measures to transform the Industrial Bank into a joint-stock company by using Ernst & Young to evaluate assets, and amending the contract between the Ministry of Finance and Mustafa Ernst Young to include the aforementioned amendments.
In the same context, the recommendation of the Ministerial Council for the Economy was approved, which allows the Trade Bank of Iraq the authority to write off its uncollectible debts (settlement) for previous cases, not exceeding 50 million dinars, and with the approval of the Minister of Finance for any amount exceeding this amount, up to 100 million dinars, and the approval of the Council of Ministers is obtained for any amount exceeding the aforementioned amount, based on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, for a period of 6 months from the date of issuance of this decision, provided that the bank bears the write-off amounts from its own resources, and amends its planning budget according to the amended Financial Management Law No. 6 of 2019.
In the file of preserving the environment and reducing polluting emissions, the Council of Ministers approved (the National Initiative Policy to Support Energy and Reduce Emissions) with its objectives and executive plans for the next (6) years; As this has an impact on the sustainability of energy and the environment, which contributes to confronting climate change, the Council also approved the study submitted by the Department of Government Coordination and Citizens Affairs / General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, and the Federal Financial Supervision Bureau, regarding annual achievement reports to measure the extent of commitment of ministries, governorates and all government institutions, in implementing the requirements of the plans and objectives of the policy under study.
In terms of following up on traffic congestion relief projects in Baghdad, and resolving the conflicts they face, the Council of Ministers approved, in the event that the implementation of conflicts is referred to the same implementing company or one of the subcontractors nominated by the implementing company, their exemption from: the requirements of the standard document, and letters of guarantee for the conflict component, and the Ministry of Construction and Housing is granted the authority to merge the components of conflicts into one contract, and that this decision shall apply from the date of its issuance to all conflict contracts, in accordance with the mechanism drawn up in Cabinet Resolution (23718 of 2023).
The Council of Ministers also voted on the following:
1. The selling price of fuel oil (black oil) supplied to licensed factories shall be (25%) lower than the global bulletin, in accordance with Cabinet Resolution No. (24547) of 2024, with a lump sum discount of (85) thousand dinars per ton, which represents transportation costs from refineries to factories.
2. Amending Cabinet Resolution No. (24242) of 2024, to include unifying the percentage of price reduction for naphtha products, natural gasoline, and condensates, for all sectors, so that they are sold to factories (pentane, varnish, solvents, and other similar projects), at a price (50%) lower than the global bulletin, and to hydrogenation factories at a price (40%) lower than the global bulletin.
3. The selling price of vacuum distillation waste (VR) for licensed factories will be (200) thousand dinars per ton, for all factories (oxidized asphalt factories, felt and building insulation factories, flancote factories, etc.), in accordance with Cabinet Resolution No. (23188) of 2023.
4. The selling price of the asphalt product mentioned in Cabinet Resolution (23188) of 2023 will be amended to be (450) thousand dinars per ton instead of (350) thousand dinars, and this selling price will be equal for the public and private sectors, with the exception of the asphalt product from the (Qayyarah) refinery, so that the price per ton will be (300) thousand dinars for all types, and the price of asphalt from the (Qayyarah) refinery will be reviewed after four months from the date of this resolution.
5. Emphasizing the implementation of paragraph nine of Cabinet Resolution No. (24547 of 2024), provided that the committee referred to in this paragraph submits its recommendations as soon as possible, within the specified timeframes.
6. Allowing the private sector to export petroleum products outside Iraq.
7- Imposing customs duties on asphalt imported to Iraq at a rate of 80%.
The Council of Ministers discussed other topics on the agenda and took the following decisions:
First/ 1. Authorizing the Director General of the General Tax Authority to negotiate and initial the draft agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion on income and capital between Iraq and Bulgaria, and authorizing the Minister of Finance to negotiate and sign the aforementioned draft agreement between Iraq and Bulgaria, based on the provisions of the Constitution, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prepare the necessary authorization document for the Minister of Finance and the Director General of Taxes, and submit it to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers to obtain the signature of the Prime Minister.
2. Cancel Cabinet Decisions (103 of 2023) and (23396 of 2023) regarding the draft agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion on income and capital between Iraq and Croatia.
Second: Approval of the Ministry of Health’s accession to the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health, provided that the Ministry does not incur any financial or legal obligations.
Third: Increase the quantities of fuel supplied to the Popular Mobilization Authority’s vehicles by 25 million liters free of charge, instead of the official price, for the purpose of maintaining logistics.
Fourth: Disbursing the remaining amounts to compensate the affected fish farmers for the years (2018 and 2019), which is 50% of the remaining compensation due from the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget for the year 2024. The Ministry shall bear the responsibility for the integrity of the procedures, provided that the disbursement is made according to detailed lists that include the name of the person to be compensated, and the required amounts, audited and signed by the officials of the relevant departments, and approved by the Minister.[/size]
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