COR FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER ON BUDGET, INVESTMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000002

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/01/2018
TAGS: ECON EFIN EINV PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: COR FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER ON BUDGET, INVESTMENT
COMMISSION NOMINATION

Classified By: Economic Minister Charles P. Ries for reasons 1.4 (b/d)


1. (C) Begin Summary: On December 31, one day following the
conclusion of the Council of Representatives (CoR) holiday
recess, First Deputy Speaker Khalid Attiyah told EMIN he
expects the 2008 federal budget to pass within the next two
weeks. Claiming that the CoR had yet to receive from the
Council of Ministers (CoM) the nomination for the head of the
National Investment Commission, Attiyah indicated he would
support an expedited vote in the plenary. On the reallocation
of unspent funds allocated to the Ministry of Interior for
current expenditures, Attiyah said that he anticipated the
measure would be approved, but could not provide details on
the exact mechanism. End Summary


2. (C) First Deputy Speaker Khalid Attiyah opened his meeting
with EMIN by citing the continued absence of Kurdish members.
Until January 3, the date of their anticipated return, the
CoR most likely would be unable to muster a quorum, he
explained. Attiyah said that he believes the Kurdish
objections to the 2008 federal budget bill had been resolved,
and accordingly predicted the CoR would pass the legislation
within two weeks. He could not, however, rule out the
emergence of unanticipated obstacles that might jeopardize
his prediction. Attiyah clarified that should the budget bill
pass prior to the end of the month, the CoR would still
remain in session through the end of January, thus providing
additional time for consideration of other important
legislation, including the de-Baathification reform
(Accountability and Justice) legislation.


3. (C) EMIN turned to the nomination of Ahmed Ridha for Head
of the National Investment Commission and explained the
necessity of National Investment Law implementing regulations
to attract foreign investment and spur economic growth in
Iraq. Attiyah confessed that the CoR had not yet received the
nomination from the CoM. He added that the CoR's standard
operating procedure for considering nominations to important
posts was to hold off voting until a handful were ready to
ensure a "balanced composition." Because of the importance of
the position, however, Attiyah indicated that he would grant
an exception to this policy for Dr. Ridha and have the CoR
consider his nomination without undue delay upon receipt from
the CoM. If Ahmed Ridha did not have strong party
affiliations, his nomination would likely pass smoothly, he
concluded.


4. (C) Attiyah claimed that the CoR was in general agreement
to permit the reallocation of unspent current expenditures
for the Ministry of Interior to be reprogrammed to capital
expenditure for purchase of equipment under the auspices of
the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. While he could not
provide details concerning the mechanism by which the
reprogramming would occur, he seemed confident the measure
would pass.
CROCKER