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Rudaw Net
28-03-2025
- Business
- Rudaw Net
KRG denies Development Road deal with Baghdad
Also in Iraq Gorran's two factions clash over planned party congress Sadr to sit out 2025 legislative ballot over prevalent 'corruption': Statement No new projects in Iraq's 2025 budget Kirkuk Turkmen, Arab leaders label PUK leader Talabani's remarks 'provocative' A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Erbil's transport ministry on Thursday denied reaching an agreement with the Iraqi federal government on the Development Road Project that currently bypasses the Kurdistan Region. 'No agreement has been reached with the Iraqi federal government regarding the Development Road Project,' the ministry said in a statement. The ministry accused the federal government of making 'incorrect' statements that a deal had been reached. The Development Road Project is a large-scale infrastructure plan to connect the Persian Gulf with Turkey by constructing highways and rail links from southern Iraq to the Turkish border. The project is expected to enhance Iraq's geopolitical position, boost the economy, and create thousands of job opportunities, with the route linking Iraq to the European Union via Turkey. However, it has been a source of friction between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The KRG has voiced concerns that there are no major highways or railway connections with the Kurdistan Region included in the main corridor. It has warned that centralizing trade routes through federal territories could weaken the Region's control over cross-border trade and customs excise. The KRG has requested that Baghdad adjust the route to integrate Kurdistan Region infrastructure, arguing that it would enhance the project's success. In February, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said that the project has Erbil's 'complete support,' despite these concerns. The KRG's transport ministry said their last official communication on the project with Baghdad was in May when 'a joint protocol was approved and signed unanimously,' agreeing to move forward with cooperation on the project. The agreement was expected to be presented to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani and Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani 'for a final unanimous approval,' the statement said. However, it added that federal authorities 'did not participate in the scheduled field visit to the proposed route,' and that Iraq's transport minister 'abruptly revoked' the process via an official letter signed by Minister Razzaq Saadawi 'with no prior clarification or justification.' The ministry reaffirmed 'the unwavering stance of the KRG in supporting national projects that serve the public, chief among them, the Development Road Project.' It also reiterated its support for a proposed railway and highway route through the Kurdistan Region, describing it as '32 kilometers shorter' than alternative routes passing through Mosul and Duhok. The proposed route 'is shorter, more cost-effective in terms of construction and long-term operation, safer, and benefits various ethnic and religious communities in the Nineveh Plains,' the statement read.
Rudaw Net
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Sadr to sit out 2025 legislative ballot over prevalent ‘corruption': Statement
Also in Iraq No new projects in Iraq's 2025 budget Kirkuk Turkmen, Arab leaders label PUK leader Talabani's remarks 'provocative' Iraqi parliament postpones voting on bill seeking elevation of Halabja to province IHEC bars polling location changes in disputed territories ahead of Iraqi elections A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Shiite cleric and politician Muqtada al-Sadr announced on Thursday that the National Shiite Movement he leads, formerly known as the Sadrist Movement, will sit out the 2025 legislative elections in protest of "corruption." The X account of Salih Mohammad al-Iraqi - known for channeling Sadr's views - on Thursday shared a handwritten response from the cleric to an inquiry from one of his followers about the 'role of the National Shiite Movement in the upcoming parliamentary elections' in Iraq, slated for October 2025. Sadr responded, "So long as corruption is prevalent, I will not participate in a flawed electoral process that only aims to secure ethnic, partisan and sectarian interests, far from the suffering of the [Iraqi] people and the unfolding disasters in the region.' Addressing his supporters, the influential cleric stated, 'As I had previously directed them to vote in the elections, today I forbid them from both voting and running' in the 2025 ballot. The complete turnaround notably comes after Sadr had in early March met with former Sadrist lawmakers at his Hanana headquarters in Iraq's southern province of Najaf. The meeting was attended by around 200 former lawmakers affiliated with previous Sadrist parliamentary blocs. Shortly after, in mid-March, Sadr urged supporters to prepare for the country's 2025 elections, calling on them to vote carefully and warning that poor electoral choices could deepen corruption and poverty in the country. The Sadrists emerged as the top force in Iraq's October 2021 parliamentary elections, securing 73 seats in the 329-member Iraqi legislature. However, their effort to establish a 'national majority' government together with Sunni Arab and Kurdish allies ultimately failed. The rival Shiite-led Coordination Framework then insisted on the post-2003 norm of establishing a consensus government. The deadlock ultimately prompted the Sadrist lawmakers to resign en masse. After a 21 months hiatus from the political process, Sadr in May renamed his movement as the National Shiite Movement, a move that was widely interpreted as a precursor to re-enter the Iraqi political scene. In mid-February, Sadr urged his supporters to update their voter registration records. However, a former Sadrist lawmaker, Rafi Abduljabbar Azzawi, then told Rudaw that the cleric's request 'does not necessarily indicate a shift in his stance on participating in Iraq's upcoming elections, but rather to urge Iraqis to take a stand in the critical period ahead.'
Rudaw Net
27-03-2025
- Business
- Rudaw Net
No new projects in Iraq's 2025 budget
Also in Iraq Kirkuk Turkmen, Arab leaders label PUK leader Talabani's remarks 'provocative' Iraqi parliament postpones voting on bill seeking elevation of Halabja to province IHEC bars polling location changes in disputed territories ahead of Iraqi elections Iraq arrests seven suspected ISIS members in three provinces A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's planning minister announced on Wednesday that the 2025 budget does not allocate funds for new investment projects and only funds ongoing ones. Minister Mohammed Ali Tamim held a meeting with the parliament's finance committee to discuss non-oil revenues and investment projects. 'The planning minister clarified that the 2025 investment budget schedules do not include any new projects, but rather include funding for ongoing projects only,' said a statement from the finance committee. During the meeting, the committee's chairman 'expressed his concern about the halt in project listings and the delay in funding ongoing projects, noting that these reasons are a prelude to a return to the problem of stalled projects,' the statement added. The committee also addressed the issue of project listing suspensions, delay of funding for ongoing projects, the financial entitlements of provinces, and the delay in announcing the population census results. "The reason for not adding new projects to the 2025 budget chart is that the money for 2023 and 2024 projects has not yet been fully spent." Jamal Kocher, a member of the finance committee who was present at the meeting, told Rudaw. In the first 11 months of 2024, out of more than 55 trillion dinars of investment budget in Iraq, 22.8 trillion has been spent, according to the finance ministry. In June 2023, Iraq passed a three-year budget that included a record $152 billion in spending. Hastyar Qadir contributed to this report.
