THIEF OF BAGDAD
10-26-2009, 03:44 PM
["Dialogue" feature: Interview with Iraqi Finance Minister Baqir Jabr al-Zubaydi, conducted face-to-face by Ibrahim Amir, on the 2010 budget and the 2009 supplementary budget; place not given - live or recorded.]
Dubai Al-Sharqiyah Television in Arabic at 1414 gmt on 16 October 2009 carries in its "Dialogue" feature a 40-minute interview with Iraqi Finance Minister Baqir Jabr al-Zubaydi, conducted face-to-face by Ibrahim Amir. The interview's venue is not given, but Al-Zubaydi says he will be attending a meeting at the finance ministry in Baghdad at 1300 on the same day.
Told we are now in the 10th month of the year and asked about the 2009 supplementary budget which has not yet been approved, Al-Zubaydi says the 2009 General Budget was discussed at length by the cabinet in July and was then referred to parliament which received it "two or three days before its recess." He says there are now different views among MPs on the supplementary budget, whereby some MPs favour merging the important issues in the supplementary budget with the General Budget, while others want to approve it separately.
Asked about the exchange rate of the Iraqi Dinar, Al-Zubaydi says the Central Bank is responsible for monetary policy. He says when he first came to the finance ministry he proposed to the governor of the Central Bank to increase the Iraqi dinar rate against the US dollar, and during a recent visit to Turkey he told the governor who was with him that Turkey has devalued its currency against the dollar from 4 million Turkish pounds (TL) to the dollar, to approximately TL 1.5 pounds to the dollar. He says the Central Bank has in fact made a decision on the matter, but its implementation needs time.
Source: Al-Sharqiyah TV, Dubai, in Arabic 1414 gmt 16 Oct 09
BBC Mon ME1 MEPol oy
http://research.scottrade.com/public/markets/news/news.asp?docKey=100-298n3117-1§ion=headlines
Dubai Al-Sharqiyah Television in Arabic at 1414 gmt on 16 October 2009 carries in its "Dialogue" feature a 40-minute interview with Iraqi Finance Minister Baqir Jabr al-Zubaydi, conducted face-to-face by Ibrahim Amir. The interview's venue is not given, but Al-Zubaydi says he will be attending a meeting at the finance ministry in Baghdad at 1300 on the same day.
Told we are now in the 10th month of the year and asked about the 2009 supplementary budget which has not yet been approved, Al-Zubaydi says the 2009 General Budget was discussed at length by the cabinet in July and was then referred to parliament which received it "two or three days before its recess." He says there are now different views among MPs on the supplementary budget, whereby some MPs favour merging the important issues in the supplementary budget with the General Budget, while others want to approve it separately.
Asked about the exchange rate of the Iraqi Dinar, Al-Zubaydi says the Central Bank is responsible for monetary policy. He says when he first came to the finance ministry he proposed to the governor of the Central Bank to increase the Iraqi dinar rate against the US dollar, and during a recent visit to Turkey he told the governor who was with him that Turkey has devalued its currency against the dollar from 4 million Turkish pounds (TL) to the dollar, to approximately TL 1.5 pounds to the dollar. He says the Central Bank has in fact made a decision on the matter, but its implementation needs time.
Source: Al-Sharqiyah TV, Dubai, in Arabic 1414 gmt 16 Oct 09
BBC Mon ME1 MEPol oy
http://research.scottrade.com/public/markets/news/news.asp?docKey=100-298n3117-1§ion=headlines