BAGHDAD (NINA) — The front pages of Thursday’s newspapers prominently featured Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi’s visit to Damascus, accompanied by an official delegation, and the outcome of his talks with Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa.

The semi-official daily Al-Sabah, published by the Iraqi Media Network, reported that Baghdad and Damascus had opened new avenues for strategic cooperation and economic integration following expanded official talks between Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi and Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa in the Syrian capital on Wednesday.

According to the newspaper, the discussions focused on strengthening bilateral partnership, coordinating regional positions, and promoting peace and stability across the region.

The issue of reviving Iraqi oil exports through Baniyas pipeline, with a reported capacity of two million barrels per day, was a key item on the agenda. The proposal reportedly received a positive response from Iraqi lawmakers, who viewed it as a significant step towards strengthening Iraq’s engagement with its regional partners.

The newspaper also quoted a statement from the Prime Minister’s Media Office confirming that Al-Zaidi had paid an official visit to Damascus on Wednesday. The statement said that Al-Zaidi and President Al-Sharaa had jointly chaired an expanded meeting involving delegations from both countries.

Al-Sabah highlighted Al-Zaidi’s emphasis on the close historical ties between the Iraqi and Syrian peoples, quoting him as saying that “the Iraqi and Syrian peoples are one people in two countries.”

The Prime Minister also stressed the importance of developing bilateral partnership and joint cooperation across various sectors, particularly the economic and social fields. He further underlined the need to enhance security cooperation, coordinate positions on regional and international issues, and work towards achieving peace and stability throughout the region.

In a separate development, Al-Zaman (Iraq edition) reported a notable recovery in Iraq’s foreign currency reserves following a decline in previous months, with reserves rising again to approximately $80 billion. The rebound was attributed to improved oil export revenues, amid assurances that dollar shipments continued to arrive in the country and that sufficient cash liquidity was available to meet the needs of citizens and travelers.

The newspaper quoted Mahmoud Dagher, adviser to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq and the bank’s spokesperson, as saying that total dollar reserves held in accounts belonging to the Central Bank and the Iraqi government at the US Federal Reserve had improved during September and October this year. After falling to $73 billion, the reserves had recovered to a level approaching $80 billion.

Dagher also confirmed that Iraq’s gold reserves had remained stable at 170 tones.

He attributed the recovery in dollar reserves to oil export revenues reaching approximately $6 billion, describing this as an acceptable level under the current crisis conditions.

However, he stressed that Iraq’s principal economic vulnerability remained its heavy dependence on oil as the main source of public revenue and government financing, particularly for salary payments. This dependence, he noted, meant that the adequacy of reserves was more important than their absolute size.

According to Dagher, Iraq’s reserves had previously been sufficient to cover the country’s needs for a full year in the event of a halt in oil exports, as occurred during April, May and June. That coverage subsequently declined to approximately nine months, although reserves were now beginning to recover towards their previous levels.

He explained that foreign reserves should be assessed according to their capacity to support foreign trade and cover the country’s import requirements, particularly given Iraq’s extensive reliance on imported goods.

In a separate report, Al-Zawraa, published by the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, reported that the Central Bank of Iraq had confirmed that final approvals for the establishment of digital banks would be issued at the end of 2027 or the beginning of 2028. The bank said that licensing for digital financial institutions remained conditional on the completion of the banking sector reform process.

The newspaper quoted Mahmoud Dagher, adviser to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq and the bank’s spokesperson, as saying that final approvals for digital banking licences would be granted upon completion of the banking reform phase, scheduled for late 2027 or early 2028.

Dagher explained that applicants seeking to establish digital banks who had already received preliminary approval were aware of the expected timetable for obtaining final authorization.

He added that these applications remained subject to the banking sector reform programme being led by global management consultancy Oliver Wyman.

The Central Bank’s position underscores the link between the introduction of digital banking services and the broader restructuring of Iraq’s banking sector, with final licensing decisions dependent on progress in the reform process./ End




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