/ The year 2023 witnessed economic events in Iraq that greatly affected the markets, especially the rise of the dollar and other fluctuations, in addition to oil, whose revenues constitute 95% of the country’s budget.
Central Bank
January 23, 2023
Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani relieved the Governor of the Central Bank, Mustafa Ghaleb Makhif, and assigned Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq to manage it.
February 11, 2023
The bank agrees with the American bank, JP Morgan, to facilitate payments through the Iraqi banking system to China, with the aim of directly financing private sector imports.
May 30, 2023
The bank announces the purchase of new quantities of gold amounting to 2.3 tons, bringing its total possessions to 132.74 tons, maintaining its 30th place in the world.
29 July 2023
The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 14 Iraqi banks as part of a comprehensive campaign against the transfer of US currency from Iraq to Iran and other countries subject to sanctions after revealing information indicating that the 14 banks were involved in money laundering and fraudulent transactions.
5 October 2023
The Central Bank confirmed that the country will ban cash withdrawals and transactions in US dollars starting from January 1, 2024, in order to limit the use of the country’s hard currency reserves for financial crimes and evade US sanctions.
October 2023
The Central Bank warns against dealing with entities that are not licensed by it and issue electronic payment cards in order to avoid cases of fraud and financial fraud.
December 12, 2023
The Central Bank of Iraq directed private banks to finance imports of small merchants from Turkey in the euro or Turkish lira, according to an official letter issued by it and appended with the signature of Ammar Hamad Khalaf, deputy governor of the bank.
December 13, 2023
The Central Bank agrees with First Abu Dhabi Bank to finance trade and imports in the UAE dirham currency.
December 14, 2023
The Central Bank agrees with an American delegation to meet the bank’s needs for cash and dollar shipments for the coming year.
26 March 2023
Baghdad stops crude oil exports from the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk fields after winning an arbitration case against Türkiye.
Before stopping it, Iraq was pumping through the line up to 450,000 barrels per day, of which 370,000 barrels were extracted from the region’s oil and the remainder from the federal government’s oil.
1 April 2023
Opening of the Karbala oil refinery with a production capacity of 140 thousand barrels per day.
June 18, 2023
Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul-Ghani announced the launch of the sixth licensing round for 11 gas exploration blocks in Najaf, Anbar, and Nineveh governorates.
10 July 2023
Iraq signed a deferred agreement with the French company “Total Energy” with investments amounting to $27 billion through the implementation of four oil and gas projects for renewable energy.
21 July 2023
Signing a memorandum of understanding to supply Lebanon with fuel, oil and gas to meet its needs for oil, fuel and crude oil.
28 September 2023
The Ministry of Oil announces the production of high-quality octane 95 gasoline at the Karbala refinery for the first time in Iraq.
29 September 2023
Maysan Oil Company and a coalition of international companies celebrated the launch of the gas investment and processing project in the Halfaya oil field in Maysan Governorate, with a capacity of 300 mqm per day (million standard cubic feet).
6 October 2023
The Minister of Oil signs a memorandum of understanding to supply gas from Turkmenistan to Iraq.
29 October 2023
The Minister of Oil curses the operation of the Baiji refinery with a capacity of 150 thousand barrels per day.
February 2023
The price of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar rose on the Baghdad Stock Exchange to 170,000 Iraqi dinars against 100 US dollars.
12 March 2023
The Ministry of Finance announces the completion of the preparation of the draft federal budget law for the year 2023 and sending it to the Council of Ministers for the purpose of discussion and voting.
June 6, 2023
The House of Representatives votes on the draft law on the tripartite federal general budget for the fiscal years 2023, 2024, and 2025. The budget included 66 articles, and is considered the largest in the country’s history, as its value amounted to approximately 153 billion dollars for each of the three years.
Agriculture
August 22, 2023
The Ministry of Agriculture announced that water scarcity deprived the governorates of Najaf, Diwaniyah, and Muthanna from growing ambergris rice due to the lack of sufficient water.
5 September 2023
The Kurdistan Region exports one thousand tons of potatoes to the United Arab Emirates.
1 October 2023
The Ministries of Water Resources and Agriculture agreed to cultivate 5.5 million dunums for the next winter season 2023-2024.
The Ministry of Water Resources said at the time, in a statement received by Agency, that it had discussed with agriculture the winter agricultural plan for the 2023-2024 season. The meeting included a presentation of the water situation in the country in terms of storage in Iraqi dams and meteorological forecasts for the coming period, and it was agreed to approve a plan:
1- Cultivation of 1.5 million dunums depending on surface water.
2- Cultivation of 4 million dunums depending on groundwater.
30 November 2023
The Kurdistan Region announces the export of honey to Qatar for the first time.
commerce
August 2023
The Ministry of Commerce begins distributing electronic ration cards to citizens to receive food basket items and flour.
April 2023
The Ministry of Commerce will replace flour in the ration with bread or “samoon” from bakeries and ovens, and it will be optional for citizens, not compulsory. Areas in Baghdad will be chosen to conduct a preliminary experiment in, namely Al-Daoudi, Al-Mansour, and Al-Harithiya.
Iraq Stock Exchange
December 28, 2023
The stock market will trade shares with a financial value of about 700 billion dinars during the year 2023.
electricity
April 2023
Electricity announces the completion of the electrical connection with Türkiye by 100% and promises that consumption fees will be at reasonable prices.
June 11, 2023
Iraq announces the launch of work on an electrical interconnection network with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries with a capacity of 500 megawatts, and the interconnection system is expected to be completed in late 2024.
June 2023
Iraq pays $2.76 billion in Iranian gas dues after obtaining US exemptions from sanctions imposed on Tehran.
30 September 2023
Electricity announces the complete completion of the electrical connection with Jordan, and the project aims to provide Iraq with a capacity of 150 megawatts in the first phase.