The Cabinet holds its 46th regular session, decisions included

INA - BAGHDAD

The Cabinet held its 46th regular session on Tuesday chaired by PM Muhammed S. Al-Sudani during which discussing the latest developments in the country, priority files within the government program, and items on the agenda to make the necessary decisions.

The Cabinet approved the implementation of a nationwide census, addressing technical issues with the Statistics Authority in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, increasing the financial allocation for the census, and allowing the Ministry of Finance to transfer the required funds without delay.

As part of the government’s administrative reform efforts, the Cabinet approved the appointment of 16 new directors general, following the government’s approach to evaluating officials and directors based on criteria of competence and performance. This brings the total number of appointed directors to 266.

To facilitate traffic congestion relief projects in Baghdad, the Cabinet agreed to transfer 385 dunams from the “Basra 2” project, from the National Investment Commission to the Ministry of Finance, earmarking it for the Directorate of Roads and Bridges under the Ministry of Construction, Housing, and Municipalities and Public Works for the fourth ring road project in Baghdad.

Continuing government support for youth, the Cabinet approved exemptions for the Ministry of Youth and Sports from certain budgetary and contract execution regulations, empowering it to directly contract for hosting and organizing the Arab Youth and Sports Ministers’ meeting in Baghdad and to host activities celebrating Baghdad as the Arab Sports Culture Capital.

In the energy sector, the Cabinet approved the recommendations related to the Dorah Thermal Power Plant Project and to proceed with legal measures against those responsible for delays.

To strengthen the military, the Cabinet approved the establishment of a new component within the Ministry of Defense’s capacity-building project dedicated to the rehabilitation of military bases and camps.

In organizing public sector companies, the Cabinet made the following decisions:
1. To exempt Al-Tariq State Company and Al-Nahrawan State Company from mergers mandated by previous decrees, allowing them and other affiliated companies to submit independent financial statements for prior years.
2. The Cabinet tasked the Defense Industries Commission with following up on the final financial accounts of Al-Nahrawan State Company for 2009-2011, as per a previous ministry directive, to complete independent accounts up to its merger.
Additionally, approval was granted for merged companies to submit separate financial statements for past years to avoid complications arising from mergers.

For the completion of stalled and halted projects, the Cabinet approved the following:
1. Increasing reserve funds for the contract to construct maintenance and storage buildings for the College of Nursing in Fallujah, as part of the larger project to design and build the College of Nursing at the University of Fallujah. The additional costs for the main project will be covered by reallocating savings from the 7 project’s existing components.
2. Introducing “The remaining work for the construction of the Primary Healthcare Sector building in Al-Shamiya” component, as part of the project of constructing Primary Healthcare Sector buildings in the center and the 4 districts of Al-Diwaniya, as well as increasing the total costs of the project.
3. Introducing “Completion of construction” components for the projects mentioned in the Ministry of Planning’s document dated November 3, 2024, reducing the total cost for (stalled) components and increasing the total costs of the main projects.
4. Increasing reserve funds for Al-Diwaniya Residential Complex /Al-Hamza project.

In foreign relations, the Cabinet approved a recommendation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish ambassador-level diplomatic relations with the Republic of Turkmenistan, under the provisions of Foreign Service Law No. 45 of 2008.

The Cabinet also approved a cash payment to the State Company for Textile and Leather Industries to cover the value of materials. The judicial decision did not include a provision indicating execution (in cash due to specific performance failure).