Baghdad-INA
Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi chaired, today, Saturday, the 9th regular session of the Council of Ministers, during which developments in the country were discussed, the items on the agenda were reviewed, and the necessary directives and decisions were issued.
The Media Office of the Prime Minister said in a statement, received by The Iraqi News Agency-INA that “Prime Minister Al-Zaidi directed the Ministry of Interior and the National Investment Commission to coordinate and cooperate with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to complete the procedures for issuing work permits, in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations, upon granting entry visas to foreign workers”.
The statement added,"The Council of Ministers also approved the closure of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs’ Labor Office, affiliated with the Department of Labor and Vocational Training and located at the headquarters of the National Investment Commission, which had been responsible for completing work permit procedures in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations, as it is no longer required following the automation of electronic entry visa procedures".
As part of the government’s ongoing efforts to combat corruption, the Council of Ministers approved the recommendations resulting from the evaluation of the performance of ministries, entities not affiliated with a ministry, and governorates, as follows:
Complete the work of investigative committees within 60 days.
Strengthen follow-up with the competent courts to expedite the resolution of cases that have remained pending for extended periods.
Follow up on the collection of amounts awarded to ministries and government entities under court judgments.
Ensure that all government entities address the observations contained in the reports of the Federal Board of Supreme Audit in a manner that enhances institutional performance, while requiring government institutions to prepare guidance manuals and adopt specific programs and guidelines to improve anti-corruption performance.
Require all government institutions to identify manifestations of corruption and enhance the efficiency of their employees through specialized anti-corruption training.
To enhance the efficiency of investment planning, rationalize public spending, and prevent increases in the cost of government projects resulting from the addition of new components, the Council decided the following:
No new component, activity, phase, expansion, or additional work may be introduced into projects included in the investment plan after their inclusion has been approved by the Ministry of Planning. Beneficiary entities shall implement projects in accordance with the approved scope of work, components, costs, and objectives.
Any work not included in the original project study, designs, or approved planning documents shall be treated as a separate project subject to the applicable procedures for inclusion, evaluation, prioritization, and funding under the relevant legislation and regulations.
The provisions of this decision shall not apply to requirements arising from public safety considerations, urgent technical requirements, or legal obligations that could not have been anticipated during project preparation.
The Ministry of Planning shall review all requests for amendments or additions to ensure they are not used to alter the project’s scope, increase its cost, fragment projects, circumvent investment plan priorities, or merge projects in a manner that undermines sound planning.
The Ministry of Planning shall issue the necessary implementing regulations for this decision, and any provision inconsistent with its provisions shall cease to apply.
To improve the quality of government project preparation and safeguard public funds, the Council decided to require contracting entities to include an explicit provision in contracts for studies, design, review, and supervision, making the consulting firms responsible for design and review fully liable, both legally and contractually, for any increase in project costs.
> Media Office of the Prime Minister:
This measure aims to eliminate financial waste and avoid technical errors in preparing bills of quantities and cost estimates. The Ministry of Planning shall also develop a unified methodology to measure deviations between estimated, contracted, and final project costs, determine their causes and the responsibility arising therefrom, and submit an annual report to the Council of Ministers identifying the entities responsible for such deviations and the measures taken against them.
In the electricity sector, the Council of Ministers authorized the Ministry of Electricity to sign the agreement for implementing the Comprehensive Plan for Securing Iraq’s Energy Supply and Developing the Electricity Sector (Generation and Transmission) with the U.S. company GE. The agreement shall enter into force simultaneously with the entry into force of the framework agreement to be signed between Iraq and the United States of America, following signature by both parties, and shall remain in effect until the relevant contracts are concluded.
As part of efforts to develop the oil sector, the Council approved the signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Oil (Basra Oil Company and North Oil Company) and the U.S. company Chevron, covering the Advance Payment Agreement, the Crude Oil Security Agreement, and the Letter of Guarantee Agreement, with the objective of increasing production.
The Council also approved Basra Oil Company’s signing of a Heads of Agreement (HOA) and a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with a consortium comprising the U.S. company Capital TI, Qatar’s UCC, and the U.S. company Chevron, with the possibility of adding one of the state-owned companies to the consortium to advance the following strategic projects:
The Strategic Export Pipeline Project (Basra–Haditha–Kirkuk–Ceyhan).
The Basra–Haditha–Baniyas Export Pipeline Project.
This will enable the consortium to begin preparing comprehensive technical and financial studies and evaluating these strategic pipeline routes without creating any financial or final contractual obligations for the Ministry of Oil.
To enhance the flexibility of Iraq’s crude oil exports, the Council approved exempting the tender for consultancy services related to the Basra–Haditha Crude Oil Export Pipeline Project from the Government Contracts Implementation Instructions No. (1 of 2025), thereby enabling Basra Oil Company to proceed with the award and contract procedures with KBR to provide consultancy services for the project.
In the same context, the Council approved adding 25,000 barrels of crude oil to the Iraq-China Framework Agreement and opening a dedicated account for this purpose to ensure the fulfillment of Iraq’s financial obligations, safeguard the country’s credit standing, and maintain the continuity of Chinese financing for development projects.
In the education sector, the Council of Ministers authorized the Ministry of Education to announce a public tender for the printing of school textbooks by qualified local and international companies, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance to secure the necessary funding.
The Council also assigned the Al-Nahrain State Company for Printing and Production of Educational Supplies to print school textbooks and authorized it to enter into contractual commitments with government and private printing presses to print the remaining textbook titles once the required financial allocations become available.
The Council further approved the loan of 1,760 tablet devices used during the General Population and Housing Census by the Ministry of Planning to the General Directorate of Real Estate Registration for use in entering data related to the project for establishing a database of real estate owners.
