Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio News.
Speaker 2: My exclusive conversation with Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shira al Sudani.
Speaker 2: I sat down with him in Berdad for a ranging
Speaker 2: discussion on the nation's economy, oil production, and the region's
Speaker 2: geopolitical challenges, and this first part of our interview. He
Speaker 2: told me the time has come for US troops to
Speaker 2: withdraw from Iraq as the nation moves away from the
Speaker 2: coalition arrangement to bilateral agreements with other countries.
Speaker 3: Bid At Hokuma Tibi barbanaj Hekumi.
Speaker 1: My government started a government run program that was proposed
Speaker 1: to Parliament and put to a vote after the Ministerial
Speaker 1: Cabinet presented it. This was according to the constitutional measures.
Speaker 1: Part of the ministerial program was ending the coalition's mission
Speaker 1: after the justifications for its presence had ended. Today, Iraq
Speaker 1: twenty twenty four is not the same as Iraq of
Speaker 1: twenty fourteen. We have defeated dysh with our sacrifices in
Speaker 1: the Iraqi people's position from all of its components and factions,
Speaker 1: and with the support of the international community and friends.
Speaker 1: And we do appreciate that we found that the justifications
Speaker 1: ended and there is no longer a need for a
Speaker 1: coalition of eighty six countries. We moved from a period
Speaker 1: of wars to a period of stability. Dyesh doesn't pose
Speaker 1: a threat to the state. It may be part of
Speaker 1: the security challenges like drug trade and criminal offenses. It's
Speaker 1: at that level. It's not equal to Dayish now a
Speaker 1: group of terrified people hiding in caves in the desert,
Speaker 1: in the mountains, and the real threat to security and stability.
Speaker 1: Based on this vision and evaluation, we initiated a conversation
Speaker 1: with our friends in the Internet National Coalition, and it
Speaker 1: was honest and included more discussions on various levels, and
Speaker 1: was culminated with my visit to Washington, d c. And
Speaker 1: talking to President Biden. We formed the Joint Committee in
Speaker 1: August of twenty twenty three between military commanders to start
Speaker 1: the conversation, and in fact, the committee reached an understanding
Speaker 1: to arrange for that withdrawal. It was hoped that the
Speaker 1: conclusion would be announced, but out of our keenness not
Speaker 1: to mix things or create a misunderstanding about the end
Speaker 1: of the coalition's mission, the desire was to postpone the
Speaker 1: announcement and we hope to announce it soon and we
Speaker 1: will take part in an international conference for the Coalition
Speaker 1: against dish or terrorism. And Iraq is a genuine member
Speaker 1: that lead the ranks to face terrorism. Ending the coalition's
Speaker 1: mission and this is an important point, does not mean
Speaker 1: a breakdown between Iraq and the coalition countries including the
Speaker 1: United States. On the contrary, at the same time, we
Speaker 1: are in bilateral talks to build a sustainable security relationship
Speaker 1: other than the economic, cultural, and scientific and social ties.
Speaker 2: You say that ISIS is less of a threat, and
Speaker 2: yet on Friday, since common ounts that a raid was
Speaker 2: conducted in western Iraq, US military alongside Iraqi security officials
Speaker 2: killed some senior ISIS commanders. That tells me that the
Speaker 2: ISIS threat is still there.
Speaker 1: No, no, of course, this was one of the quality
Speaker 1: operations that was executed between security agencies and the international coalition.
Speaker 1: This is proof daesh or. This is proof that the
Speaker 1: security agencies have reached the phase of capability where they
Speaker 1: started finding these people in caves in mountains, in deserted
Speaker 1: areas and killed them. This is proof of the level
Speaker 1: of ability and capability that our security forces have reached.
Speaker 1: Dyash today doesn't own a land or an area to
Speaker 1: be in and has lost its incubator. And this is
Speaker 1: the fundamental win achieved. Following up on the cells of
Speaker 1: these individuals doesn't mean that there is a real threat.
Speaker 1: When we used to talk about Dyash, Dyash used to
Speaker 1: hold areas, villages and cities, and today Dash doesn't have
Speaker 1: this existence except for these isolated groupings in deserted areas.
Speaker 2: There's a US presidential election coming up very soon. What
Speaker 2: would you like to see out of the next US president,
Speaker 2: be it President Harris or President Trump.
Speaker 3: Riki.
Speaker 1: Of course, we respect the choice of the American people
Speaker 1: according to the democratic process. We will deal with any
Speaker 1: administration that gains confidence. It's of interest to us to
Speaker 1: activate strategic framework that was signed in two thousand and
Speaker 1: eight and building of relationship based on these principles of
Speaker 1: mutual interests and respecting Iraqi sovereignty.
Speaker 2: President Trump has been historically very hawkish on Iran. Do
Speaker 2: you worry that a return of President Trump could be
Speaker 2: even more destabilizing for the region.
Speaker 1: For our understanding of the situation of the relationship between
Speaker 1: Iraq and Iran is based on mutual interests and mutual respect.
Speaker 1: Iran is a neighboring country and we share one four
Speaker 1: hundred kilometers and that's in our interest to have a
Speaker 1: close relationship, especially that Iran has been supportive of the
Speaker 1: political process and our efforts in combating terrorism. Of course,
Speaker 1: Iraq is the only country in the region that has
Speaker 1: a special relationship between Iran and the United States, and
Speaker 1: we try through this positive characteristic to help in bringing
Speaker 1: opinions closer. And we are interested to have stability in
Speaker 1: the region away from the access policy. We don't want
Speaker 1: the tense relationships and the stances of other countries of
Speaker 1: the world to impact the Iraqi situation. This is our
Speaker 1: diplomatic effort and movements in terms of our bilateral and
Speaker 1: regional ties.
Speaker 2: Now for more from my exclusive interview with Iraq's Prime Minister,
Speaker 2: Mohamashia al Sudani. The Prime Minister told me his country
Speaker 2: is fully committed to opek's decisions, despite not adhering to
Speaker 2: quote us during our conversation. He also discussed Iraq resuming
Speaker 2: oil exports via a pipeline to the Turkish port is
Speaker 2: Shayan more than a year after its closure.
Speaker 3: Muhimaf ob Obuku plas.
Speaker 1: Iraq is an important country in OPEK and OPEK Plus,
Speaker 1: and we coordinate with our brothers, especially our brothers in
Speaker 1: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We are committed to voluntary
Speaker 1: cuts and there war issues that the brothers understood in
Speaker 1: terms of the slight increase in production and the rock
Speaker 1: committed to compensating for that, and we began in August
Speaker 1: of this year. We are committed to the decisions of
Speaker 1: OPEC and OPEC Plus in a way that protects the
Speaker 1: price of oil and this balance between the interest of
Speaker 1: the producers and consumers.
Speaker 3: Almost you.
Speaker 2: Say that you will start introducing compensations, Where is that
Speaker 2: going to come from?
Speaker 1: But a helpful intelligent we started reducing the domestic production
Speaker 1: and reducing the exports in a clear way in the
Speaker 1: oil market.
Speaker 2: Can you talk to me about the future of the
Speaker 2: pipeline from Kurdistan. It's been shut off for several months now.
Speaker 2: You've talked about the possibility of the resumption of gas
Speaker 2: going through that pipeline. Can you give us a timeline
Speaker 2: on it, and also again what that would do to
Speaker 2: your own role production. Given what we were just talking about.
Speaker 2: Via the vis vid Opek.
Speaker 3: Quotas, Muskimas and Google Turkey.
Speaker 1: Let's understand the problem with the Iraqi Turkish oil pipeline.
Speaker 1: The export stopped from Sahan after the decision from the
Speaker 1: International Court in Paris over a lawsuit filed by the
Speaker 1: former Iraqi governments over exporting oil without somo's approval. And
Speaker 1: then we faced another problem, and that's a legal issue,
Speaker 1: and they were decisions by the Federal Court regarding oil
Speaker 1: contracts in Kurdistan Region and the budget law that fixed
Speaker 1: the average cost of producing a barrel that doesn't surpass
Speaker 1: eight dollars for every barrel, whereas fixed production cost in
Speaker 1: the oil contracts of oil companies with Kurdistan Region is
Speaker 1: over twenty six dollars. We are now in front enough
Speaker 1: two options only. We either amend the contracts, which is
Speaker 1: what the company is dealing with the Kurdistan Region had rejected,
Speaker 1: or we amend the budget law and this requires political agreement.
Speaker 1: Iraq is keen to resolve this problem. We are missing
Speaker 1: the production capacity from this strategic important line and we
Speaker 1: are keen on investing in existing oil and the work
Speaker 1: of the companies. There are ongoing talks with the companies
Speaker 1: and with brothers in the Kurdistan Region and we hope
Speaker 1: to reach a solution based on the legal paths that
Speaker 1: I mentioned.
Speaker 2: Could it happen this year?
Speaker 1: Possible? Possible.
Speaker 3: That was my
Speaker 2: Exclusive interview with the Iraqi Pane Ministermashya Al Sudani.