The Council of Ministers holds its thirty-fifth session headed by Al-Sudani and takes several decisions / Expanded

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani chaired the thirty-fifth regular session of the Council of Ministers today, Thursday, which witnessed the discussion of the overall situation in the country, the progress of the implementation of the government program, in addition to the files on the agenda for which the necessary decisions were taken. At the beginning of the session, Al-Sudani reviewed, according to a statement from his office, the outcome of his official visit to Egypt and Tunisia, and what it witnessed in terms of discussing bilateral cooperation files, and preparing for the next meeting of the Iraqi-Egyptian Joint Committee, which will be held in Baghdad, and directed the ministers to prepare the required files to activate all areas of cooperation, especially in the fields of oil and transportation. Regarding Iraqi-Tunisian relations, the Prime Minister spoke about the convergence of positions between the two countries, the availability of opportunities for cooperation and activating and revitaliz ing relations, as well as the necessity for all ministries to follow up on the outcomes of this official visit and communicate with counterpart ministries in Tunisia and Egypt for more fruitful partnerships. Al-Sudani renewed his appreciation and gratitude for the efforts of all ministries, institutions, governorates and security forces, most notably the Supreme Security Committee headed by the Minister of Interior, the Supreme Committee for Million-Year Visits headed by the Director of the Prime Minister's Office, and the Ministers of Health, Electricity, and Transportation, as well as the governors and holy shrines, for the efforts made in managing and making the million-year visit a success to commemorate the Arbaeen of Imam Hussein, peace be upon him. He pointed out that this success in managing and accommodating more than 21 million visitors, in addition to the projects and infrastructure that have been diagnosed and monitored, are now in the process of being implemented to serve visitors, the roads and stations they take, and all service facilities. Al-Sudani explained the most important security steps taken recently, which contributed to thwarting any threat, and within qualitative preemptive operations that resulted in the arrest of 46 wanted terrorists, and within all operational sectors. The Council considered the issues and files presented on the agenda and took the necessary decisions regarding them. In the oil field and within the government's approach to developing investment in oil wealth, the Council approved the contracts for the fifth and sixth supplementary licensing rounds, totaling (14) projects for final signing, and proceeding with activating the contracts under discussion, based on the provisions of Article (39/1) of the contract for the two aforementioned rounds. In the field of energy, the Council approved the addition of (1463) billion dinars, within the import of fuel, Iranian gas, and (619.68) billion dinars, within the import of electrical energy to the budget of the Ministry of Electricity for the year 2024, based on the provisions of the Federal General Budget Law for the fiscal years (2023 - 2024 - 2025). Source: National Iraqi News Agency