Category: General

Manama, As part of the National Bureau for Revenue’s (NBR) commitment to raise VAT and excise payers’ awareness of all aspects of the VAT and Digital Stamps Scheme, and ensure the effective implementation through its various stages, the NBR held 8 virtual workshops during the current year 2022. The interactive workshops were attended by more than 800 representatives from 482 different entities.

The NBR virtual workshops were dedicated to increasing businesses’ awareness of VAT and Digital Stamps Scheme procedures, which include a question-and-answer session to respond to all relevant inquiries by NBR representatives.

The NBR will continue organizing virtual workshops in the upcoming phase. Interested VAT and excise payers may pre-register by filling out the workshop registration form through the NBR’s website at www.nbr.gov.bh to enable NBR representatives to communicate and share relevant details about upcoming workshops.

For inquiries related to VAT and excise or to report any violations, our call center can be reached at 80008001 available 24 hours, 7 days a week, or through vat@nbr.gov.bh.

In addition information is also available on NBR’s website (www.nbr.gov.bh), Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube platforms (@bahrainNBR).

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Baghdad The Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Ahmed Fakak Al-Badrani, participated in the meetings of the 31st session of the Executive Office of the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism, which was held under the presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Arab League.

A statement by the Ministry stated: Ahmed Issa, the Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, presided over the meeting, in the presence and participation of the member states of the office, and a number of advanced Egyptian cadres in the field of tourism, transportation and public relations.

During the meeting, agenda items were discussed, which relate to many important issues to activate joint Arab action, especially with regard to the development of the Arab tourism sector, including support for the Palestinian economy in the field of tourism, a program for training human cadres in the tourism sector in Arab countries, and general Arab guiding principles to standardize registration procedures and the adoption and use of vaccines among Arab countries, and the guide to facilitated tourism, and tourism innovation and smart tourism.

It is noteworthy that the member states of the Executive Office of the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism are Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, Palestine, Iraq, Tunisia, Algeria, and the Kingdom of Morocco.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad Head of the Integrity Commission, Haider Hanoun, affirmed that restoring confidence in state institutions lies in holding the senior corrupt accountable, putting them behind bars, and returning corruption proceeds from public funds to the state treasury, stressing that the work platform in managing the Commission is based on the principle of reward and punishment.

Hanoun said in a speech during his meeting with the staff of the Directorates and offices of the Commission’s investigation in Baghdad and the provinces on the sidelines of the activities of the National Integrity Week: The investigations of the Commission, if they lead to the arrival of the corrupt behind bars and their removal from the job, they will contribute to creating a decent life for the citizen and economic stability.

He appreciated the blood that was shed for the sake of the homeland, whether in the battlefield against terrorist organizations or those that were shed in confronting corruption and fighting the corrupt, describing it as a project for the survival of the state and the basis on which its bases are based.

Hanoun urged the investigative staff to exert their utmost efforts in the cases they work on, strive diligently and sincerely to investigate cases of administrative and financial corruption, and to provide evidence through which the investigating judges can issue the appropriate decisions against the corrupt and the money trespassers.

He pointed out: Work in the field of combating corruption contributes to creating a happy life for the citizen, providing his strength and creating job opportunities, and contributes to eliminating drugs, unemployment and poverty.

He pointed out that “many negative phenomena and crimes result from corruption, which impedes reconstruction, investment and the provision of job opportunities, which in turn leads to the delinquency of some members of society.

Hanoun praised: the elements with competence and integrity that were able to carry out solid investigations that led to putting the corrupt behind bars. He warned against presenting personal and factional interests in their work, which requires objectivity, professionalism, high sincerity, and punishing bad elements and banishing them outside the commission.

He stressed: the necessity of restoring citizens’ confidence in state institutions and providing the appropriate environment to receive their complaints and communications, and to ensure that they are not subjected to humiliation, bargaining and extortion, as the commission’s teams diagnosed in their visits to some prisons and hospitals.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad – Minister of Transport, Razzaq Muhibis Al-Saadawi, discussed with the UK Ambassador to Iraq, Mark Bryson, coordination of joint cooperation between the two countries in the field of transport.

Al-Saadawi said, in a press statement today, Sunday, “Several vital axes were discussed, including the file of the European embargo, and opening new horizons in transport lines between the two countries, in addition to benefiting from expertise and investing it in the field of transport.”

For his part, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom expressed his country’s readiness to provide support and advice to the Iraqi side regarding the transport sectors, providing it with the latest specialized expertise in the field of transport and trade, and bridging all forms of cooperation in work.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad The Minister of Trade, Atheer Dawood Al-Ghurairy, met today, Monday, in his office, with the Iranian Ambassador to Iraq, Muhammad Kadhem Al Sadeq, to discuss ways to enhance relations and cooperation in the joint trade field between the two countries.

During the meeting, several files were discussed, the most important of which was raising the level of trade exchange, activating joint committees, and exchanging views on joint cooperation with the Ministry’s companies, as well as participation in the sessions of the Baghdad International Fair and the establishment of specialized exhibitions inside Iraq.

For his part, the Iranian Ambassador affirmed that his country pays exceptional attention to Iraq and is ready to provide support to Iraq in various economic and commercial fields, as these relations represent a social, economic, cultural and civilizational dimension linking the two countries.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad – The financial expert, Madhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed: The rise in the price of the dollar is temporary, until private banks practice the rules of international compliance in the transfer for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

He told the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA /: the rises that occurred are a temporary phenomenon dictated by regulatory conditions in the procedures for conducting external transfer requests (submitted by local banks) on foreign currency.

He added: It was worked a while ago on an advanced (electronic platform) that links the request for transfers by banks with correspondents from international banks and the relevant global compliance bodies at the same time.

He explained: The new procedures have restricted the supply of foreign currency temporarily, which requires a simple adjustment period in order for private banks to practice global compliance rules in transferring for the benefit of beneficiaries from foreign trade financing operations to the private sector.

He added: It takes some time to reorganize the requests and their consistency with the global requirements for transfer through the digital platform, which has come to represent the new tool in dealing with the window of the Central Bank of Iraq for buying and selling foreign currency.

The market for buying and selling foreign currencies witnessed during the last few period an increase from its usual daily rate, exceeding 150 thousand dinars per hundred dollars .

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Istanbul The head of the Turkish-Iraqi Business Council, Khaled Agar, announced that Turkey plans to raise its exports to Iraq to $16 billion for the year 2023.

Khaled Agar said in a press statement today that Turkish-Iraqi relations are developing day after day, especially commercial ones. Turkey’s exports to Iraq in the past 11 months amounted to 12 billion and 604 million dollars.

He pointed out that Istanbul ranked first in Turkey as the largest exporter to Iraq with a value of 2.6 billion dollars, then Gaziantep with 1.8 billion dollars, then Mardin with 833 million dollars, and he expected to exceed 14 billion in the value of Turkish exports to Iraq by the end of this year.

Khaled Agar indicated that Turkish exports include grains, legumes, oilseeds and their products, chemicals, paper supplies, furniture and steel.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad Assistant Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Ali Nikzad, stressed that “the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond overwhelmingly and firmly to any kind of threat and expansionist ambitions.”

Ali Nikzad responded to the statement of the Gulf Cooperation Council, saying: “The Islamic regime has always proven to be a friend and supporter of its neighbors, and the Iranian nation’s defense of the Iraqi government and people during the brutal attack of ISIS on this country is the best example of the policy of benevolence towards our neighbors, but while being kind to our neighbors, we will respond overwhelmingly and firmly to any kind of threat.”

He added, “We want prosperous and secure neighbors, but at the same time, if we see excessive ambitions, whether the ambition is to change borders, support armed groups in the west of the country, or whether the talk is about the three islands of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran’s response will be strong and capable.”

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad Basra crude closed with a weekly loss of more than 2%, similar to the rest of the other crude oil, which also recorded a decrease in varying proportions.

Basra Heavy crude closed in its last session on Friday, down by 19 cents, to reach $65.61 a barrel, and recorded a large weekly loss of $11.13, equivalent to 14.5%.

On the other hand, Brent crude closed down in the last session on Friday, also by 5 cents, to reach 76.10 dollars, and recorded a weekly loss of 7.53 dollars, equivalent to 9%.

US West Texas Intermediate crude closed in its last session, Friday, also declining by 44 cents, to reach $71.02 a barrel, and recorded a large weekly loss of $8.96, equivalent to 11.2%.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Istanbul – Turkey and Russia discussed the possibility of establishing a center to collect Russian gas in Turkish territory to supply European countries with their gas needs.

The Turkish Anatolia News Agency reported today that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a meeting in Istanbul with the CEO of the Russian gas company Gazprom, Alexei Miller, during which they discussed the possibility of supplying Russian gas to Turkey and the possibility of establishing a gas center in Turkish territory to supply European countries with their needs of Russian gas.

It noted that the Turkish President suggested that the Thrace region in the northwest of the country would be the most suitable for establishing an international center for gas distribution, and that he had instructed the Turkish Energy Minister, Fatih Donmez, to take the measures related to this matter.

Last October, Erdogan announced that he had ordered the Ministry of Energy to work on establishing a natural gas center in Turkey, a day after his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, suggested that Moscow could export more natural gas through Turkish territory and turn it into a new supply center.

It is noteworthy that the CEO of the Russian company “Gazprom” had announced last October that the new lines likely to be established on the new gas pipeline (Turkish Stream) will use Russian-made pumps to transport gas across the Black Sea to the Turkish border close to the borders of Europe.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad The head of the National Wisdom Movement, Ammar al-Hakim, and the President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Rashid, stressed today, Saturday, the continuation of dialogue to overcome the outstanding problems between the center and the region.

The media office of the National Wisdom Movement stated in a statement, “Al-Hakim received the President of the Republic, and that the two parties discussed developments in the political scene in Iraq and the region, and the restoration of the pivotal role of Iraq among the parties.”

The statement added, “The two sides stressed the importance of maintaining dialogue to overcome outstanding problems, especially between the federal government and the regional government, and the need to solve them according to the equation of national interest and concession in favor of Iraq,” pointing to “the need to activate the work of the House of Representatives in its current session and work to prepare important laws in preparation for their approval.”

The statmante pointed out that “the two parties also stressed” the importance of obtaining water rights for Iraq from the countries of source and passage, and work to activate international agreements related to this file.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Baghdad The political analyst, Fadel Al-Badrani, stressed that the legislation of the Information Crimes Law will create a conflict in which we lose stability.

He told the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA /: It is better to postpone the information crimes law, until the situation in the country stabilizes, the state triumphs over the corrupt, and the culture of corruption declines.

Al-Badrani added: If the law is enacted, it will create a state of clash and friction between the will of the intellectuals and activists on the one hand, and the parties that practice corruption, influence and the power of money.

He stressed: Certainly, Iraq is currently in need of legislating a law on the right to obtain information to serve the citizen.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency