Samarraie addressing Basra delegation: We’ll never let Iraq’s wealth be wasted

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Parliament Speaker Iyad al-Samarraie said on Thursday that the Iraqi House will never allow any manipulation with or attempts to squander the country’s wealth. “The House has always been keen on preserving Iraq’s riches by blocking any contract that does not meet all the necessary conditions that guarantee the rights of all Iraqi people,” Samarraie was quoted in a statement by his office after receiving an oil delegation from the southern Iraq city of Basra. “Major companies are asking the ambassadors of their countries to seek oil gains in Iraq. Accordingly, all Iraqis should work together in order to preserve their nation’s riches and the parliament, on the other hand, is entitled and even required to fully get acquainted with all contracts signed with any companies,” he was quoted in the statement received by IraqiNews.com news agency. The delegation, led by lawmaker Mohammed Hussein Al Yassin, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s oil & gas committee, provided a fully-detailed technical-legal account of the contracts included into the 1st round of oil licenses announced by the Iraqi oil ministry. AmR (P) 1