The Council of Ministers holds its 37th regular session chaired by Al-Sudani

Baghdad-INA
 
The Council of Ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani, held its 37th regular session today, Tuesday, where they discussed the general situation in the country, developments across various sectors, the progress of the government program according to its priorities, and the status of projects and public affairs.
 
The Prime Minister's Media Office said in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA):”At the start of the session, the Prime Minister congratulated the sports community and the Iraqi people on the achievements made by Iraqi athletes, particularly the victory of Najla Imad, who won a gold medal in table tennis at the Paralympic Games, held in Paris, he emphasized how this victory represents resilience in the face of terrorism and brings honor to Iraq, highlighting the capabilities of Iraqi women in overcoming challenges ,the Prime Minister also praised the efforts contributing to this achievement.”
 
 
 
The statement added,” in another discussion, the Prime Minister spoke about the organization of the Iraq Investment Forum, which will be held in early November, organized by the Iraqi private sector in coordination with the Prime Minister's Office and the National Investment Commission. This event will feature significant participation from global and Arab companies and businesspeople.”
 
The Prime Minister directed ,”ministries to actively engage with such activities, explore investment opportunities, and present them to the preparatory committee along with data, figures, and laws that encourage investment, especially as the forum will coincide with the Baghdad International Fair.”
 
The Prime Minister announced that Sunday, September 15, 2024, would be a public holiday to mark the occasion of the Prophet's Birthday.
 
The Council discussed several key files and issues presented on the agenda, making the necessary decisions.
 
Regarding employment procedures, the Council approved a mechanism for the gradual employment of medical and health professions graduates, addressing those exceeding the number set by the Parliament in Table C of the Federal Budget Law, as follows:
 
1. Utilizing available job positions from the Ministry of Health’s workforce movement.
 
 
2. The Ministry of Finance will identify and reallocate job positions from all government entities not exempted by the 2023 Budget Law, transferring them to the Ministry of Health for this purpose.
 
 
3. Graduates not employed this year will be deferred to the next year with priority in employment.
 
 
4. The Ministry of Health will establish a two-year medical residency system, granting licenses to practice the profession after this period.
 
 
5. A committee will continue its work to address issues related to medical education and residency.
 
 
 
Concerning national issues and employees in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the Council of Ministers approved the continued payment of salaries to KRG employees who have not received their salaries due to the absence of an official employment number. The KRG is required to complete the process of issuing employment numbers through the Federal Ministry of Planning for these employees, in line with the procedures followed for other state employees. The deadline for this process is set for the end of 2024. Council of Ministers' Decision (229 of 2022) will apply to KRG spending departments starting from January 1, 2025.
 
In the energy sector, the Council approved the direct contracting for the supply, installation, and operation of two thermal generation units (350 MW each) for the North Thermal Power Plant (turnkey project), under the Iraqi-Chinese framework agreement, awarded to the ECEC and TCC consortium for $747 million. The Chinese company ECEC will bear 1% of the banking fees over a 36-month period by reducing the contract value.
: The Council also approved the Central Review and Referral Committee's recommendation at the Ministry of Electricity to sign a new contract with Siemens Energy to upgrade the simple-cycle units and increase the capacity of the Nasiriyah Power Plant from 486 MW to 616 MW, with a total combined cycle capacity of 921.8 MW. This includes changing the beneficiary entity, project name, location, duration, financing source, and adding the combined cycle.
 
To secure gas imports, the Council of Ministers agreed to proceed with cooperation with Loxstone Energy, which is authorized to supply gas from Turkmenistan through the SWAP contracting mechanism to complete the gas import process from Turkmenistan.
 
The Council amended its Decision (24646 of 2024) regarding the dues for electricity supply (investment companies - Iranian side), as follows:
 
Approving an additional 1.463 trillion dinars for Iranian gas imports and 619.68 billion dinars for purchasing electricity from local investors. These amounts will be added to the Ministry of Electricity's budget for 2024, based on the Federal Budget Law for the three fiscal years.
 
 
As part of efforts to complete stalled projects and proceed with infrastructure development, the Council approved the following:
 
1. Including the component (Supplementary works for the lighting network in the residential city, Al-Abaidi Subdistrict, and Al Abaidi Entrance) within the project for rehabilitating electrical networks and establishing feeders in the districts and subdistricts of Baghdad, and increasing the total project cost.
 
 
2. Including the component (Supplementary works for building Rawah District Governor’s office) within the project (Construction and rehabilitation of buildings for local administrations in Fallujah, Heet, Anah, Haditha, Rutba, Rawah, and Ramadi), and increasing the total project cost.
 
 
3. Adding the component (Furnishing and equipping the Cancer Treatment and Bone Marrow Transplantation Center in Duhok) to the project (Construction of the Cancer Treatment and Bone Marrow Transplantation Center in Duhok) and increasing the project cost.
 
 
4. Amending Council of Ministers' Decision (24540 of 2024) regarding increasing the total cost for the project to acquire land plot No. 5686/1, Section 43 Yarmja Al-Sharqiya, Mosul, for the Ministry of Justice.
 
 
5. Exempting the Sunni Endowment Office from the execution instructions of works using the direct execution method due to the limited number of engineering and technical staff in the office and the geographical distribution and number of its projects.
 
 
 
The Council reviewed several other issues and made the following decisions:
 
1. Approving the allocation of part of plot No. 413/4, Section 417, with an area of one dunam, for the construction of a water purification plant for the Holy Kadhimiya Shrine. The remaining part of the land will be used for its designated purpose (gardens and parks).
 
 
2. Exempting Turkish citizens holding ordinary passports who are under 15 years of age or over 50 years of age from visa requirements and fees, based on the principle of reciprocity. They will be granted entry directly at airports and land borders for a stay of up to 30 days, according to the provisions of the Aliens Residence Law (76 of 2017).
 
 
3. Allocating 9.1 billion dinars to the Ministry of Health from the emergency reserve for the implementation of Council of Ministers' Decision (24096 of 2024) regarding the measles-mumps-rubella vaccination campaign, based on the Federal Budget Law (13 of 2023). The Ministry of Health will provide the Budget Department with details of the added allocation.
 
 
4. Exempting the Abbas bin Firnas Square Development Project from the government contract execution instructions (2 of 2014), to invite reputable companies directly to ensure the project is completed with urgency and precision.
 
 
In the context of regional cooperation and productive partnerships, the Council of Ministers authorized the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Trade to sign memoranda of understanding with the Iranian side.