The Council of Ministers held its regular session chaired by Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaidi on Tuesday evening, during which the general situation in the country was reviewed and files on the agenda were discussed in order to issue necessary
recommendations and decisions. In a move aimed at protecting food and drug safety for citizens, it was decided to exempt all imported medicines and foodstuffs from customs duties starting from the seventh of October two thousand and twenty-six. In a
related context, the draft law on transferring ownership of land allocated for housing projects to the Housing Department, which was reviewed by the State Council, was approved for referral to the legislative authority to accelerate the implementation of urban projects.
The Council also approved the draft law amending the Criminal Procedure Code number twenty-three of nineteen seventy-one after legal review. To address the financial dues of investment projects, recommendations were approved to amend government decisions concerning projects fully funded under
valid agreements, the Iraqi-Chinese framework agreement, and emergency support contracts. The session witnessed approval to increase the total financial allocations within the investment budget of the Ministry of Interior for the current year to enhance its security efficiency, alongside allowing
the Ministry of Health to retain service fees to support its financial funding. In the economic and service affairs, the decision regarding the mechanism for calculating and supplying fuel for electric power generation was amended, in addition to including the
Retirement and Social Security Department for workers in previous decisions to protect the rights of private sector workers. At the educational level, approval was granted to issue establishment licenses for private universities and colleges in accordance with applicable laws and
after fulfilling requirements, in addition to approving the ship lines system to regulate the maritime navigation sector and ensure its legal safety.
