Iraqi Parliament continues discussing 2011 State Budget

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi Parliament is holding its session on Tuesday to continue the discussion of the State’s Federal Budget for the year 2011, according to a Parliament statement early in the day. “The session’s schedule includes the second reading and the discussion of the General State’s Federal Budget for the year 2011,” the statement pointed out. The Iraqi Council of Ministers approved the final version of the Budget in a meeting held on Feb. 6, 2011. The country’s budget for the fiscal year 2011 is based on revenues for the crude oil exports at an average price of US$73 per barrel and an average daily export of 2,250,000 barrels, including 150,000 per day for the revenues of crude oil exports from north Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. The draft law on the new budget includes a condition that all ministries and other institutions that are not attached to any ministry would be committed to “authenticate” the cash grants they get according to agreements with foreign governments and institutions, to be a final revenue for the Federal Iraqi Treasury, through coordination with the Federal Planning Ministry. SKH (TP)/SR 1156