Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Ministerial Council for Economy Mr. Fuad Hussein Presides 37th Meeting of Ministerial Council for Economy

On December 9, 2024, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mr. Fuad Hussein presided the thirty-seventh meeting of the Ministerial Council for Economy, which was held in the Council headquarters with the attendance of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning, the Ministers of Agriculture, Trade, Labor and Social Affairs, and Industry, in addition to the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, the Chairman of the Securities Commission, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil, and the Prime Minister’s Advisors for Economic and Legal Affairs.

The Council discussed the items on its agenda and took the necessary decisions regarding them. 

The Advisor, Director of the Secretariat of the Ministerial Council for Economy, reviewed the report of the special committee for studying the direct implementation projects in Salah Al Din governorate, which was divided into six categories according to the percentages of physical and financial achievement and the importance of the project based on the reports of the site inspection committees formed for this purpose. The Council recommended approving the report and submitting it to the Council of Ministers for approval.

The Council hosted the Chairman of the National Board of Pension and the Director General of the State Pension Fund, as the Chairman of the Board provided a detailed explanation of the Board’s work including retirement deductions and the government’s contribution rates represented by the Ministry of Finance and the Fund, in addition to the Fund’s financial status. He also referred to the government’s direction to diversify the Fund’s investments with the aim of increasing financial flows and developing capital. After extensive discussions the Council supported diversifying the State Pension Fund’s investments on the condition of making guaranteed and low-risk investments to develop the fund. 

The Council also hosted the Deputy Mayor of Baghdad for Technical Affairs and the Director General of the Baghdad Sewerage Directorate, to discuss rehabilitating the main Dora pumping station and rehabilitating 22 pumping stations on the Rusafa side, in this regard the Council decided to recommend to the Council of Ministers to approve the exemption of the two aforementioned projects from the Council of Ministers’ decision and to continue financing them from the World Bank loan and to ensure the Bank’s commitment to finance and direct the Baghdad Municipality to complete them urgently due to their importance. 

The Council also approved the Ministry of Agriculture’s request to ban the import of the following winter crops: lettuce, cauliflower, lettuce, turnips, and beets, due to their local availability, while allowing the import of watermelon and melon due to disruption of their cultivation within the country. 

Additionally the Council recommended to the Council of Ministers to amend the fees and charges collected by the Central Agency for Standardization and Quality Control, based on the recommendation of the Study and Follow-up Committee, to amend the fees and charges which are collected at border crossings for all gold jewelry, in addition to increasing the fees for marking bullion.