The United States Department of Defense has issued notification of proposed sales of arms from the US to Iraq.

General Dynamics is to be the prime contractor on a $36m deal for the supply of ammunition for Iraq’s Abrams M1A1 tanks (pictured).

The sale consists of:

• 14,010 TP-T M831A1 120mm Cartridges;
• 16,110 TPCSDS-T M865 120mm Cartridges; and
• 3,510 HEAT-MP-T M830A1 120mm Cartridges.

Raytheon is proposed as the prime contractor for a $68m package of “Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Systems”.

According to the Department, “The proposed sale of the C4ISR system will ensure that the Iraqi Naval Force (INF) is better able to efficiently use its vessels and manpower to police Iraqi territorial waters and protect its strategic maritime assets. The C4ISR system will enable the Iraqi Government to assume more responsibility for its security and rely less on U.S. and coalition forces to establish stability.”

(Source: Defense Security Cooperation Agency)

The Egyptian Consul General to Kurdistan Region, Suleiman Othman, said that flights between Egypt and the Region will commence in December, and passengers to Egypt can get their visas in Erbil.

In an interview with AKnews on Monday, the consul said that Nile Air will launch Cairo-Erbil and Sulaimaniya-Cairo routes.

“This step will definitely improve the bilateral relations,” the consul said.

Last week Othman started his term as Consul General to the Kurdistan Region.

(Source: AKnews)

Lafarge, the world’s biggest cement maker, plans to increase its annual capacity in Iraq by 2 million tons by 2013 as the country rebuilds homes and infrastructure destroyed by war, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Lafarge currently has capacity of 6 million tons a year across three plants and is producing 4 million tons, or 25 percent of Iraq’s cement, Marcel Cobuz, chief executive officer for Iraq, said in an interview in Amman.

“Now the demand in Iraq is constantly growing,” he said. The unit had more than 10 percent growth last year and “a little bit less this year”.

Demand for building materials in Iraq is set to increase as the country rebuilds infrastructure and homes after years of war and economic sanctions. As we reported yesterday, Iraq’s housing minister has said they will need to build 2.5 million homes by 2015.

By Lisa Knight, Creative Director & Founder of The Brand Foundation.

Since 2007 Iraq has witnessed a number of multinationals setting up regional operations – GE, Daimler Benz, Shell, and global finance and banking institutions such as J. P Morgan Chase and Citibank publicly proclaiming an interest in the Iraqi financial sector, its only a matter of time before a cross-sector multinational influx occurs.

How does a multinational go about presenting itself to an Iraqi population of approximately 28 million people? Iraq, unlike the UAE or Saudi Arabia has a significant amount of historical baggage, local perceptions of large western organizations are unclear at such an early stage of re-development, and the idea of a multinational being welcomed with open arms is not guaranteed – neither is global brand recognition a given in a country that has largely been shut off from western media.

With the possibility of political baggage being directly associated with big, foreign businesses, especially those that are US or British owned, does entering Iraq mean a major brand positioning exercise is required?

In the case of Iraq, I believe it should. The Iraqi market is to be entered sensitively, with tact, diplomacy and an acute cultural awareness of the impact of a turbulent history. Imposing your tried-and-tested western brand on this market with disregard for its troubled past and cautious nationals could be an opportunity missed.

In the marketing and branding world, getting to know your customers has always been a vital research activity that helps you develop an appropriate brand dialogue, in Iraq the concept remains the same, however it isn’t a small market segment one is analyzing, it’s a population of tens of millions of people, the majority of which are potentially receptive to your proposition, provided you get the dialogue right – and dialogue, not just identity, is key.

Understanding their purchasing habits, lifestyle traits, beliefs and customs will lead you to appropriate solutions, including when and where to interact and what tone of voice to adopt. A bi-lingual logo isn’t enough to say “Hello/Salam, we’re here – we speak your language, so trust us,” – a far more considered, sophisticated approach is needed to achieve a deep-routed penetration whereby in time trust is established between your organization and your new customers.

Localization is just that. Local. Methods that work in other parts of the world, or other parts of the Middle East may or may not be appropriate for Iraq.

Lisa Knight is Creative Director & Founder of The Brand Foundation, a UAE-based branding agency that specialises in the property sector in emerging markets. Prior to that, Lisa led the creative team of the UK’s governing political party, firstly under Rt. Hon Tony Blair and latterly, Rt. Hon Gordon Brown. Lisa’s career spans 16 years and numerous industries: arts & entertainment, business & finance, fashion, travel, youth, sport, and international development.

The Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) has announced that it is to open a representative office in Austria.

A KRG official said that the Prime Minister, Dr. Barham Saleh, signed an official document to assign Mustafa R. Koran as the representative in the office.

He added that steps will continue to open more offices in other countries in addition to the 12 already opened in USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Iran, Sweden, Australia, and Austria.

The Nabucco gas pipeline project, in which Austrian energy company OMV is a major player, is based in Vienna.

(Source: National Media Center)

The Iraqi cabinet has approved a draft 2011 budget on Tuesday that envisages a deficit of 14 trillion dinars ($11.99 billion), down from an expected deficit of $19.6 billion for this year, according to a report from Reuters.

The budget, which still needs parliamentary approval, is based on an oil price of $73 a barrel, as we previously reported, and an oil output of 2.25 million barrels a day. It forecasts government expenditure at 64 trillion dinars in 2011, Deputy Finance Minister Fadhil Nabi told Reuters after a weekly cabinet meeting.

The budget estimates for 2011 were revised down from a deficit of $18.6 billion after the cabinet asked ministries to cut their expenditure, Nabi said.

“The cabinet recommended to lower the deficit so we could make up the shortfall easily,” he said.

Earlier this year, Iraq’s parliament approved a 2010 budget of $72.4 billion with a deficit of $19.6 billion, based on an oil price of $62.50 per barrel.

(Source: Reuters)

Iraq has once again postponed its first census in more than 20 years because of Kurdish-Arab wrangling over disputed areas in the north, Deputy Planning Minister Mehdi al-Alak told AFP on Tuesday.

The delay to the census, which had been due to be held on December 5, is the latest in a string of deferrals which have put back a count originally due to have taken place in 2007.

“The census has been delayed to finish preparations in Nineveh province and to address some issues,” said the minister.

Alak said one of the outstanding issues was a land dispute between Arabs and Kurds in Kirkuk province which, like Nineveh, is ethnically mixed and in Iraq’s north.

“Iraq’s political leaders will decide the date to hold the census when they meet next week,” Alak added, without giving details.

Reuters reports that the Environment Minister, Nermeen Othman [Narmin Othman] (pictured), who attended a meeting where the cabinet decided on the postponement, said a new date would be set in coming days after a meeting between Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and officials from Nineveh and Kirkuk.

A Kuwaiti company received two investment licenses in Muthanna, according to a media source at the Muthanna Investment Commission, quoted by Aswat al-Iraq.

“Kuwait’s al-Mahamed company received two investment licenses to implement a residential compound, which contains 2,000 apartments, in addition to the establishment of a cement factory in the Badiya al-Samawa region,” Ali Hanoun told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, noting that the commission is resolved to implement the agreed projects with the Kuwaiti company to contribute in supporting the Kuwaiti investment activity in the province.

(Source: Aswat al-Iraq)