A golden opportunity: How Iraq can benefit from regional calm. By Hamza Hadad*

Following the recent thaw in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Iraq is strengthening its ties with GCC states. European countries should support this development, which could help Iraq address its domestic challenges   For decades, Iraq has been caught in the crossfire of tensions between neighbouring Iran and Saudi Arabia. But following the recent thaw in rel

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Iraq approves record $153 billion budget including big public hiring

By Ahmed Rasheed and Timour Azhari June 12, 20234:14 AM GMT+2Updated a month ago   [1/3]Iraqi lawmakers attend a parliamentary session to vote on the federal budget at the parliament headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, June 11, 2023. Iraqi Parliament Media Office/Handout via REUTERS BAGHDAD, June 12 (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament on Monday approved a 2023 budget of 1

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With Iraq’s new budget, Baghdad goes after Kurdish oil. By Joseph Daher *

According to the new budget, Erbil will now have to deliver no less than 400,000 barrels of oil per day to Baghdad before it can receive its share of the federal budget. [Getty] On June 21, 2023 Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid ratified the country’s long-awaited three-year federal budget bill. On June 11, the bulk of MPs had voted for a three-year budget bill of around 19

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Analysis: Iraq’s new budget may hamper more than it helps. By Hamzeh Hadad

Analysis: Iraq’s new budget may hamper more than it helps. By Hamzeh Hadad   This year’s budget is Iraq’s largest at 198.9 trillion dinars ($153bn) with the same allocated for 2024 and 2025. The Iraqi Council of Representatives passed the 2023, 2024 and 2025 federal budgets on June 12, nearly eight months after Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani’s new government wa

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