Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Chairs the Second Session of Ministerial Council for Economy for 2025

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mr. Fuad Hussein, chaired the second session of the Ministerial Council for Economy on Monday, January 27, 2025, which was held at the Council’s headquarters with the attendance of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning, the Ministers of Finance, Agriculture, Trade, Industry, Labor and Social Affairs, in addition to the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil, the vice Chairman of the National Investment Commission, and the Prime Minister’s Advisors for Economic and Legal Affairs.

The Council discussed the topics on its agenda and took the necessary decisions regarding them. As well the Council reviewed the latest political and economic developments and their impact on the Iraqi economy, in light of regional and international changes, with a focus on the repercussions of regional conflicts on the global economy, especially the oil market.

The Council approved the request of the Ministry of Industry/Board of Directors of Industrial Cities, which included.

• Exempting industrialist from paying rental payments during the project establishment phase and for the first two years, in accordance with the license granted to the industrialist and issued by the General Directorate of Industrial Development or the National Investment Commission.

• determine the amount of rent at 250 thousand dinars per month for a single industrial section with an area of ​​half a dunum.

The Council also decided to increase the reserve ratios for the annexes of the two contracts related to the governing works of the power stations in the industrial city of Dhi Qar, and the industrial city of Basra, provided that this is done without increasing the total cost of the project.

regarding the Modern Villages Project, the Council decided to distribute agricultural lands according to the Agricultural Dedication Law instead of the Modern Villages Law, while instructing the governorate and the Ministry of Environment to remove war remnants and mines near those lands.

The Council also approved the request of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals to suspend the decision of the Ministerial Council for Economy regarding the Iraqi-Jordanian Dijaila Company project, until negotiations with Serbian companies to revive the project, provided that the project is fully owned by the Ministry of Industry and Minerals. The Council stressed the need to inform it of the results of the negotiations with the Serbian companies to take the necessary decision.

Additionally, the Council recommended to the Cabinet to approve the Ministry of Agriculture’s request to continue implementing the Cabinet’s two decisions related to the maintenance of agricultural aircraft, to be used in aerial spraying campaigns to combat various agricultural pests, given the importance of this issue and its direct impact on the agricultural sector.