Prime Minister, Mr. Mohammed S. Al-Sudani, chaired today the second regular session of the Council of Ministers. During the session, the Council of Ministers discussed the country’s general situation, the most prominent issues, and the items on the agenda and issued several decisions.

The session focused on discussing the increase in the USD exchange rate, its effects on the market and the citizens, and the measures required to address this issue and support the national currency, and the Council approved the following measures:

1- All government agencies are required to sell all goods and services inside Iraq based on the Central Bank USD exchange rate of 1470 IQD per 1 USD.

2- What was stated in Paragraph (1) above includes sales of goods and services from the private sector, especially the offices of national and foreign airlines, commercial agencies, telecommunications and Internet companies, and sales of residential investment complexes. It is emphasized that the prices of goods and services are in Iraqi dinars based on the Central Bank exchange rate.

3- The Central Bank sells dollars to the parties mentioned in Paragraph (2) at a rate set by the Central Bank of 1460 IQD per 1 USD for remittances and 1455 IQD per 1 USD to cover letters of credit after they pledge to sell using Iraqi Dinar. It will be announced on the official websites of the concerned authorities of sales outlets.

4- The Central Bank of Iraq develops a streamlined mechanism within one week from the date of the decision, through which the private sector mentioned in paragraphs (2 and 3) above can get US dollars at the official exchange rate. The bank also secures private sector transfers outside Iraq at the official exchange rate to cover their obligations.

The Council of Ministers also continued discussing the issue of confirming contracted workers in all state ministries. It approved the Ministry of Finance’s creation of job positions in the federal budget to confirm workers contracted before November 2, 2019.

The Council of Ministers approved the Ministry of Finance to change the employment category of (1000) social workers into contracted workers following the Council of Ministers’ Resolutions (315 and 337 of 2019).

With regards to supporting the winter agricultural plan for the current season and addressing the existing water problem, the Council of Ministers approved the recommendations of the joint permanent committee (Agriculture and Water Resources) held on November 30, 2022, regarding adding the two paragraphs below to the recommendations of the committee concerned with preparing a clear study pertaining to the winter agricultural plan for this season, and focusing on the use of groundwater in promising areas in all governorates approved by the Council of Ministers following its decision (284 of 2022) according to the following:

1. Adding an area (one million dunums) so that the total area cultivated on surface water becomes (2,500,000) dunums, only two and a half million dunums, provided that the focus is on the agricultural areas of the winter plan on the main rivers, creeks, and canals.

2. Forming joint committees from the water resources directorates, agricultural directorates, agricultural committees, and agricultural associations in coordination with them and the operations task force composed of the Joint Operations Command in all governorates to follow up on the commitment of farmers to the irrigation areas approved by the agricultural plan for the winter season 2022-2023 and to remove the violations, and all trespassers will bear the responsibility The two ministries above are not obligated and are not responsible in considering any requests for compensation, in the event of a violation of the approved agricultural plan, and setting bi-monthly meetings whose dates are agreed upon in coordination between the Directorates of Agriculture and the Directorates of Water Resources in all governorates.

Following the orders of the Prime Minister to expedite the implementation of the government’s plans to remove traffic jams and reduce traffic congestion in the capital, Baghdad, and the subsequent measures represented in removing several checkpoints in Karkh and Rusafa, and opening several roads and tunnels inside the Green Zone, the Council of Ministers discussed the comprehensive government plan to be implemented by the Ministry of Construction and Housing to reduce traffic jams in the capital, Baghdad and the Council approved the following:

1. Authorizing the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities, and Public Works to conduct contracts with a limit not exceeding 1,500,000,000,000 IQD dinars for the listed projects within the government program, with direct invitation (design-implementation), and approve a single offer within the total cost, provided that the contracts include a clause stipulating that no funding will be disbursed until after the approval of the federal budget of the Republic of Iraq for the fiscal year 2023, and the aforementioned ministry would provide the funding including contracting with a reputable international consulting company, exempt from the instructions for implementing government contracts (2 of 2014).

2. All ministries, and state agencies not associated with a ministry, must provide all support for the projects of reducing traffic jams in the capital, Baghdad, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities, and Public Works.

3. Forming committees at each site to address implementation conflicts, consisting of representatives from the ministries of (oil, culture, electricity, communications, transportation, finance, and planning), the Mayoralty of Baghdad, and the Baghdad Operations Command. The committees are empowered to implement change orders, and their costs are added to the project cost.

4. Authorizing the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities, and Public Works and the state entities that own land or the owner of the allotment the authority to implement the projects in question within the lands owned or allocated to those entities, provided that a takeover takes place or the allotment is changed.

To implement what was stated in the government agenda and what was included in the government program about the housing sector and provide the necessary support in this regard, the Council of Ministers approved the following:

Approval of the consultative meeting minutes held on November 29, 2022, regarding lands belonging to the Ministry of Finance and complexes designated for the construction of residential complexes, and paragraph (Third) of the recommendations of meeting No. (17) of the National Housing Council, according to the following:

• Lands belonging to the Ministry of Finance

-Based on the provisions of Article (1/7) of the Amended Law of Ownership of Lands and Emiri Buildings (3 of 1960), the ownership of lands belonging to the Ministry of Finance and previously allocated shall be transferred without compensation to the Housing Department, one of the formations of the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities, and Public Works, on which housing complexes were built on or under construction following Legislative Decree No. 39 of 2001.

• Lands belonging to the General Municipalities Directorate and allocated to the Housing Department.

2- Owning the lands belonging to the General Directorate of Municipalities and allocated to the Housing Department following Resolution (693 of 1973) without compensation, with what is needed from the lands indicated in Article 1 of Law (80 of 1970) if it applies to lands belonging to municipalities.

With regards to implementing the strategic plans set for the development of the electricity system, the Council agreed to authorize the Minister of Electricity to sign a memorandum of cooperation for the energy program in Iraq, the second phase, between the Ministry of Electricity and Siemens Energy, exempt from the instructions for implementing government contracts (2 of 2014).

The ministers participating in the government delegation to Germany were also authorized to sign memorandums with their counterparts from the German side.

The Council of Ministers continued discussing other issues on the agenda and issued the following decisions:

First / Approval of the recommendations of the minutes of the (twenty-eighth) meeting of the Diwani Order Committee (45 of 2018), tasked with developing ways, mechanisms, and solutions necessary for completing public hospital projects.

Second / Approving the bill of the Second Amendment for the Iraqi Media Network Law No. (26) of 2015, to be forwarded to the Council of Representatives.

Third / for the public interest and work requirements, and to ensure providing media service with competence, impartiality, and independence following the standards specified by law, (the Council of Ministers) recommends to the Council of Representatives the relieving the president and members of the Board of Trustees of the Iraqi Media Network of their posts.

Fourth / Approval of the recommendations presented by the Deputy Prime Minister / Minister of Planning regarding amending the customs tariff

Fifth / Approval of the recommendation of the Ministerial Council of Economy according to the following:

– Adjusting the prices of petroleum products in the future will be one of the tasks of the Ministerial Council for the Economy upon a recommendation to the Council of Ministers.

Sixth: Approving the exemption of military shipments belonging to the Ministry of Defense from paragraphs (3, 5) of Council of Ministers Resolution (65 of 2022).