Prime Minister Mr. Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi chairs the eighteenth regular session of the Council of Ministers •••••••••• The Prime Minister, Mr. Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi, chaired, this evening, Tuesday, the eighteenth regular session of the Council of Ministers, during which developments in the situation in the country were discussed, the topics and files on the agenda were discussed, and the necessary decisions were taken regarding them. The Council agreed that the Ministry of Finance would provide the Ministry of Oil with financial allocations to ministries and official centrally funded agencies, so that the Ministry would prepare on a monthly basis, according to the allocation for each spending unit. As part of the government’s measures to enhance the capabilities of exporting oil and its products, the Council agreed to amend its resolution (165 of 2026) regarding the mechanism for selling crude oil and petroleum products, to ensure its continued operation until the end of the current crisis and the return of shipping traffic to normal in the Strait of Hormuz. Within the framework of regulating contractual obligations, the Council of Ministers agreed to amend its resolution (348 of 2026), to include the signing of agreements between the Ministry of Oil and the American company Chevron, within the down payment agreements, crude oil insurance, and technical consultation. Regarding the water framework agreement between Iraq and Turkey, the Council approved amending its resolution (388 of 2026) so that the quantities of crude oil exported to the Turkish side will not exceed (33) thousand barrels per day as a first stage, within the framework of the actual financing need for the agreement mechanism. To develop medical services, the Council of Ministers approved the extension of the relevant import approvals, according to what was recorded in the Ministry of Health’s letter, provided that the extension granted does not exceed the end of the current year. As part of the measures to pressure expenditures, it was approved to stop all external delegations of state employees, whether centrally or self-funded, and to restrict delegation approval to the competent minister for extreme cases, and to reduce delegation allocations by (60%) in the general budget and sub-budgets and from transfers from other departments except the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To address the effects of the previous regime’s decisions, the Council of Ministers approved a draft law to repeal the (dissolved) Revolutionary Command Council’s Resolution No. (110) on February 21, 1989, which was examined by the State Council and referred to the House of Representatives. To strengthen Iraq's obligations to international agreements, the Council agreed to issue a ship tonnage system, which was audited by the State Council, based on the provisions of the Constitution and the provisions of the Law of the Supreme Iraqi Maritime Authority (18 of 2019). As part of the government's steps to consolidate international relations, it was agreed to authorize the Minister of Commerce to negotiate and sign a draft agreement on economic, commercial, scientific, artistic and cultural cooperation between Iraq and Serbia. ••••• Media Office of the Prime Minister 8-September-2026