Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Chairs Ministerial Council for Economy Extraordinary Meeting in Kurdistan Region

09 Sep
Minister News, ministry and missions 107

On Sunday, September 8, 2024, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Chairman of the Ministerial Council for Economy Mr. Fuad Hussein, chaired an extraordinary meeting of the Council. The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning, the Ministers of Finance, Trade, Labor and Social Affairs, Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Undersecretary of Oil Ministry, and the Prime Minister’s Advisor for Legal Affairs.

Additionally, Mr. Masrour Barzani Prime Minister of the Region, Mr. Qubad Talabani Deputy Prime Minister of the Regional Government, in addition to members of the Ministerial Council for Economy in the Region, including the Ministers of Finance, Interior, Justice, Planning, Trade, Industry, Public Municipalities, Electricity, Natural Resources, the Head of the Region’s Diwan, and a number of advisors and general managers in the Region, attended the meeting. As well as the expanded meeting between the two parties was attended by the Head of the Federal Financial Monitoring Bureau, the Undersecretaries of the Ministries of Planning and Agriculture, the Prime Minister’s Advisor for Ports Affairs, the Chairman of the Border Ports Commission, Heads of the General Commission for Customs and Tax, and a number of Directors General in the Federal Government.

The Prime Minister of the Regional Government welcomed the Chairman and members of the Ministerial Council for Economy and his accompanying delegation, noting the importance of this visit to discuss and consult on solutions to several pending issues in the presence of specialists from both parties.

Minister Fuad Hussein conveyed the greetings of Prime Minister Mr. Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani, and stressed the government’s keenness to raise all files and problems for discussion between the Federal Government and the Regional Government to be discussed among specialists to reach the best solutions that serve the interests of the people.

Minister Fuad Hussein pointed out the preparatory meeting held yesterday to set a joint agenda that includes many economic files, and that many technical bilateral meetings will be held later to intensify discussions and reach solutions to these problems.

The Council discussed the items on its agenda and took the necessary decisions regarding them. The Council decided, after extensive discussions, to approve the findings of the joint committees between the Ministry of Industry and Minerals in the federal government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the regional government according to the joint minutes agreed upon between the two parties, to enter into force after their approval and ratification by the two relevant ministers and submitting them to the Federal Council of Ministers for ratification.

Moreover, the Council decided that the Ministry of Trade of the Federal Government, and the Regional Government should take the necessary measures to complete the electronic linking process and create a single window to standardize import and export licenses and exchange data electronically, including standardization the procedures for registering companies and factories between the two sides, and completing the electronic transformation process (automation) of the ration card throughout Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region.

The Council also decided to form a joint technical committee between the two parties to complete its work within one month and submit its recommendations to the Ministerial Council for Economy for ratification. The committee shall undertake the following tasks:

  • Standardization of the procedures for evaluating and matching goods and commodities entering Iraq.
  • Standardization of mechanisms for entering and exiting gold and precious metals in coordination with the standardization and quality control organization between the two sides.
  • Standardization of the instructions and controls for classifying contractors.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning indicated the importance of concerted efforts to make the general population census a success, describing it as a development census, as its outputs will contribute to advancing the wheel of development and resolving many technical problems related to statistics, population ratios, parliamentary representation, and others.

The two parties agreed to exert all efforts to complete the requirements for conducting the general population census across various parts of Iraq, and to prepare the infrastructure, logistics, technical matters, and human staff to make it a success.

Additionally, the Council decided to continue holding technical meetings and form four working groups and bilateral meetings for the following sectors:

  • Finance, Planning, and Ports.
  • Oil, Energy.
  • Trade, Agriculture, and Industry.
  • Labor and Social Affairs.

It will complete its work today and submit its recommendations to the Ministerial Council for Economy in its meeting that will be held tomorrow in Erbil, in continuation of today’s meetings.