The Cabinet held its weekly regular meeting on Tuesday in Baghdad under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.

At the start of the meeting, the Prime Minister congratulated the security forces in all their formations for their efforts in pursuing Daesh terrorist gangs and eliminating their leaders, including the criminal, the  so-called (Wali Al-Anbar).

The Prime Minister highlighted the government’s successful approach to foreign policy, which led to good relations with Iraq’s neighbours and friends.

The Cabinet received a briefing from the senior official in charge of managing the Ministry of Electricity Mr. Adel Karim, who outlined the current state of the electricity sector, and the problems facing the network during this time of high temperatures.

The Cabinet reviewed the latest Covid-19 related developments, and the efforts by the Ministry of Health to continue to contain the virus, including the anti-Coronavirus vaccines which are available throughout Iraq.

Following discussions, the Cabinet agreed several measures and directives including:

• Authorizing the Director General of the General Tax Authority at the Ministry of Finance to negotiate and initialize a draft agreement on the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion on income and capital between the Government of the Republic of Iraq and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

• Authorizing the Acting Deputy Minister of Planning for Technical Affairs, to negotiate and sign a draft executive grant agreement with the US government – USAID.