Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaydi chaired the first regular session of the Council of Heads of Independent Bodies and Entities Not Linked to a Ministry for the year 2026 on Wednesday, to implement Cabinet Resolution (341 of 2026) regarding the approval of recommendations resulting from the performance evaluation of ministries, entities not linked to a ministry, and governorates in the field of combating corruption and preventing it, as well as adopting real estate registration offices to automate property ownership data within a unified system.
The media office of the Prime Minister stated in a statement received by the News Video Agency that the session discussed several files related to the work of the bodies, ways to address the obstacles they face, and deliberated on the topics listed in the agenda, making the necessary decisions and recommendations regarding them.
It was clarified that in the field of integrity and combating corruption, a vote was held to approve the emphasis on implementing the circular from the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers regarding the development of the performance of legal employees and establishing a mechanism to ensure compliance of employees with the provisions of the Code of Conduct issued by the Integrity Commission, and directing those responsible to submit financial disclosure statements in the independent entities and ensure their submission within the legally specified deadlines.
Furthermore, it was confirmed to implement the circular from the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers regarding including investment or economic agreements being concluded with any country that has funds belonging to Iraq subject to the Law on the Recovery of Iraq's Funds (9 of 2012), stating a resolve regarding issues related to smuggled funds or the recovery of judicially wanted persons, and amending previously concluded international agreements to meet the requirements of the current phase in this field, particularly the Riyadh Agreement on Judicial and Legal Cooperation, the Turkish Judicial Cooperation Agreement, and the bilateral treaty with Turkey regarding the extradition of criminals, along with referring the Federal Integrity Commission the contracts required to be excluded from the public contracts implementation instructions (1 of 2025) to the Ministerial Economic Council for decision-making.
He also noted that regarding the work of the Sunni Endowment Office, a vote was held for the office to coordinate with the Federal Public Service Council to clarify its needs for the required specialties, coordinate with the Ministry of Finance regarding including a provision in the draft federal budget law to stabilize lecturers and security employees, in addition to coordinating with the ministries of finance, education, and planning regarding exempting the implementation of construction work for Imam Al-Azam College in Baghdad and the governorates from the contracting methods stipulated in the public contracts implementation instructions (1 of 2025), and allocating the necessary financial amounts for the reconstruction and restoration of mosques and prayer halls that were subjected to terrorist attacks.
It was indicated that regarding the work of the Supreme Haj and Umrah Commission, approval was granted to coordinate the commission with the Federal Board of Supreme Audit to complete the requirements for contract auditing, coordinate with the Ministry of Transport, and express the opinion of the Ministerial Energy Council regarding the request for exemption from Cabinet Resolution (429 of 2026) to reduce ticket prices for pilgrims and Umrah performers, while considering the government's measures on reducing and rationalizing expenses related to external delegations of the commission.
He pointed out that within the framework of the work of the Competition Affairs Council and the Prevention of Monopoly, a vote was held to approve adding the council to some governmental committees concerned with preparing economic policies that impact competition, enabling it to express opinions, and coordinating the council with relevant entities to prepare a matrix to define the role of each entity in preventing overlap in decisions and regulatory powers in the market, and ensuring all governmental bodies respond to the Competition Affairs Council to resolve complaints in a timely manner, as well as facilitating and expediting the procedures for establishing branches of the council in the southern and northern governorates, similar to the Middle Euphrates branch.
It was also voted that the Martyrs Foundation coordinate with the National Center for Digital Transformation to automate its work. Regarding the Iraqi Scientific Academy, voting was held for all government entities to apply the Law on the Safety of the Arabic Language (64 of 1977) and to consult the academy when needed.