Cabinet decisions at today's session

Baghdad-INA 
The Iraqi News Agency (INA) publishes the decisions of the Council of Ministers in its session held today, Tuesday.
 
 
A statement issued by the Prime Minister's Media Office, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), said, "The Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia'a Al-Sudani, chaired the eighth regular session of the Council of Ministers, and the session witnessed discussing developments in the general situation in the country, and deliberating on a number of basic files that fall within the requirements of the government program, as well as discussing the topics on the agenda and issuing decisions and recommendations in this regard.
    The Council of Ministers Holds the Seventh Regular Session Chaired by Prime Minister Mohammed S Shia’a Al-Sudani and Issues Important Decisions.
 
 
At the beginning of the session, the Council of Ministers discussed the issue of reviewing the work of the Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and Director-Generals. The Prime Minister reiterated that the evaluation will be based on the level of implementation of the procedures of the government program. In this regard, the Council of Ministers approved the following:
 
1- Emphasizing that all ministries adhere to the timelines when sending data.
2- The commitment of the ministries (oil, commerce, education, justice, agriculture, communications, and culture) to the timetables specified in Paragraph No. (3), and submit a weekly status report every Wednesday.
3- Sending official letters signed by the Director General of the Planning and Follow-up Department in the Ministry if it is not possible to be signed by the Minister or the Deputy Minister for any reason.
4- The Office of the Prime Minister shall periodically provide the team with the completed status report on the progress in implementing the political agreement document.
5- The legal department in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers will periodically provide the team with the completed required legislation included in the ministerial agenda and the government program.
6- The Ministry of Planning will follow up on implementing Paragraph (8) of Cabinet Resolution No. (340 of 2022).
7- That all ministries proceed with the implementation of the paragraphs that do not need funding based on Cabinet Resolution No. (340 of 2022), and hold periodic meetings with the sub-ministerial teams.
8- The commitment of all ministries to the set timings regarding the implementation of the objectives of the executive procedures of the government program for their ministries and to submit follow-up reports to the main team.
9- The level of accomplishment to be used as a scale in evaluating the Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and Directer-Generals, by the specialized committees formed for this purpose.
 
Following up on the implementation of the cabinet resolution issued in November of last year regarding the cancellation of resolutions issued during the caretaker government period, the Council of Ministers approved the following:
 
1- Approval of the recommendations of the competent committee to (reconsider all Cabinet Resolutions taken from the previous government during the period of caretaker government from (October 8, 2021) until (October 27, 2022).
2- The legal department in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, in coordination with it and the Cabinet Affairs Department, committees, and relevant authorities will implement the recommendations in question and adhere to Paragraph (2) of Cabinet Resolution (338 of 2022).
 
In the context of the government's support for art and artists, and in light of what the Prime Minister emphasized during his recent meeting with an Iraqi Artists Syndicate delegation, he directed a competent team to prepare a comprehensive study for the rehabilitation of theaters in the capital, Baghdad, to revive the Iraqi theater and revitalize meaningful theatrical works.
 
As part of the government's commitment and duties to support the art activities and trends in Iraq, the Council of Ministers approved; Supporting the Department of Cinema and Theater according to the requirements outlined in the letter of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities / Department of Cinema and Theater on February 12, 2023.
 
With regard to the issue of refugees and ensuring providing international protection for them within the scope of international agreements and treaties, the Council of Ministers agreed to authorize the Minister of Foreign Affairs or whoever he authorizes to sign an official memorandum addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, including the request of the Republic of Iraq to join the Executive Committee to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, provided that this is not accompanied by accession to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951; and its supplementary protocols.
 
Because of the repercussions of the devastating earthquakes that occurred in the regions of southern Turkey, and according to what was stated in the letter of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Council of Ministers approved the transfer of the Consulate General of Iraq from the Turkish city of Gaziantep to Mersin.
 
In matters related to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well, the Council of Ministers agreed to authorize the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to rent a building from the private sector for the office of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the capital, Baghdad, estimated by the committee for $ (110,000), with the additional amount to make up for the rise in real estate rentals.
 
In the same context, the Council of Ministers approved the following:
 
1- Approving the amendment of Paragraph (2) of Cabinet Resolution (235 of 2020) regarding the building of the Iraqi Military Attaché by removing the phrase "that part of the building in question be allocated for our embassy in London" because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not need that part of the building.
2. The Ministry of Finance to exempt the Iraqi Military Attaché building from the federal budget bill for the fiscal year / 2023 if it included the text that was included in the Federal General Budget Law for the year / 2021.
 
For public interest and to face the dangers of storing chemicals in abandoned containers in Iraqi ports, the Council of Ministers agreed to authorize the Minister of Finance to legally dispose of the chemicals contained in containers abandoned in the ports of Umm Qasr; 23 containers stored in Al-Zubair warehouses affiliated with the Ministry of Electricity, and allowed the right to donate to the Ministry of Electricity in light of the situation described in the Ministry of Finance’s letter, and to donate the rest of the abandoned chemical materials to the ministries if they desire them, based on the Cabinet Resolution (403 of 2019).
 
The Council of Ministers continued discussing other issues on the agenda and issued the following decisions:
 
First:  Approving the amendment of Cabinet Resolution (63 of 2020) and Paragraph (2) of Cabinet Resolution (23055) of 2023 to become as follows:
 
1- Excluding medicines and medical materials from Cabinet Resolution (63 of 2020) regarding non-application of the provisions of Article (215) of the Customs Law (23 of 1984) and its amendments when failing to produce the original invoice described in Article (27) of the law above, Or presenting invoices or document disregarding what is stipulated in the Article above (27/Third), and the amount of the fine will be (750,000) dinars, for each document that is not duly certified by the competent authority, including the certificate of origin and the unattested invoices. To avoid cases of manipulation and fraud due to its direct impact on the health and safety of Iraqi citizens.
 
2- Excluding medicines and medical materials from Paragraph (2) of Cabinet Resolution (23055 of 2023) regarding providing an insurance payment of (500,000) dinars for non-certification of the certificate of origin and invoice.
 
3- Requiring documents approved by the health authorities and conducting an examination by an accredited examining agency in addition to the endorsed documents.
 
Second: Approval of the recommendations of the committee formed in the Ministry of Interior related to studying the problem of the increase in the number of licensed foreign workers, taking into account the opinion of the legal department in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers.
 
Third: Approval of the recommendation to the Council of Representatives regarding proceeding with enacting the law of the first amendment to the Property Claims Commission Law No. (13), of 2010, which was approved by the Cabinet Resolution (16 of 2014) and confirmed by the Cabinet Resolution (401 of 2015).
 
Fourth: The Ministry of Migration and Displacement will donate ambulance vehicles to the Ministry of Health, according to the total number recorded in the letter of the Ministry of Migration and Displaced on February 21, 2023.