By Tariq Abdell, Iraq’s political risk analyst, and Founder & CEO, Mesopotamia Insight

The opinions expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

 Iraq’s impending multi-billion dollar mega-reconstruction projects (housing, roads, hospitals, bridges, airports, schools, dams, etc…) and its colossal and untapped natural resources – billions of proven oil and gas reserves- are irrefutably the modern day ‘s El Dorado, affording risk-taking  investors a unique and unparallelled opportunity to thrive and prosper.

 Nonetheless, venturing into Iraq’s quagmire (fragile democracy, geopolitical tensions, severely languished infrastructure, and impoverished population) without strategic foresight and versatility entails grave risk and dire consequences far beyond repair: assets depletion, workforce distress, capital exposure and, ultimately, investments annihilation.

 Furthermore, in the absence of socio-economic data repositories, as result of decades of isolation, to support strategic foresight analysis and corporate sustainability strategies, international investors’ only cogent alternative is to device a comprehensive strategy incorporating constructive engagements, strategic partnerships, and the needed political capital as viable mean to foster and strengthen their corporate sustainability and, ultimately, competitiveness.

 Given Iraq’s decades of wars, sanctions, and economic hardship, the suggested strategy will entail four interconnected points:

Constructive engagements

 Understanding local communities’ value systems, cultural nuances, and earning their trust is an absolute imperative for international investors’ survival and competitiveness. To this end, international investors need to engage all the stakeholders in their areas of operation (e.g., tribal and religious leaders, NGOs, media, members of the provincial government, etc…) via a participatory and inclusive approach to foster mutual understanding, respect and, most importantly, common interest.

Strategic partnerships

  With the already established relationships, that is corroborated with strategic insights, international investors ought to capitalize on the achievements of the previous phase, by strengthening and solidifying those relationships perceived to be promising, fruitful, and prone to grow into sustainable strategic partnerships.

 Corporate social responsibility

 Given the socio-economic dynamics of their areas of operation, International investors must adopt an acculturated corporate social responsibility – not charity- to attain broad and immediate impact. To this end, international investors, in concert with local partners, ought to leverage their strategic partnerships to deliver their envisioned corporate social responsibility strategies. For instance, international investors need to work closely with local NGOs and institutions (Basrah University, for instance) to solve a communal problem or foster a fruitful cooperation.

 Political capital                 

  To ensure their businesses survival and success in an environment replete with uncertainty, international investors ought to foster their political capital that commensurate with their operational efficiency by leveraging their strategic partnerships and the achievements of their constructive engagements.

 Case in point:

 Given Basrah’s high unemployment rates – 70%- and its colossal oil reserves, IOCs could play a crucial role in the local economy by introducing the critically needed technical know-how and, thus, help develop local workforce literacy through strategic partnership with local institutions such as Basrah University – suitable platforms for knowledge sharing and dissemination. Unarguably, such perspicacious initiatives would help alleviate Basrah unemployment, spur economic recovery, strengthen IOCs’ political capital, and, ultimately, their corporate sustainability.

 Drawing on past experiences (Eastern bloc, for instance), transitioning from years of planned economy into free market societies – adaption of democratic and free market principles- is an intricate and time consuming process, that is exacerbated with the geopolitical tensions. Therefore, to overcome the unforeseen externalities associated with Iraq’s post-conflict environment, international investors ought to:

• Recalibrate their corporate sustainability strategies to reflect Iraqi market’s idiosyncrasies. Among them, political landscape, tribal and cultural nuances, ethno-sectarian fabric, institutional and bureaucratic hurdles.
•  Build in-house leaders and foster their global mindset, transcultural competence, and societal capital. Such virtues are essential prerequisites for the implementation of the aforementioned strategies.

Simply put, “Ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril”  Sun Tzu, a renowned Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher.

The opinions expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

The author, Tariq Abdell, is Iraq’s political risk analyst, and Founder & CEO of Mesopotamia Insight

He can be contacted at: atariq2000@hotmail.com

or

Followed on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/atariqx

The Kurdistan Region’s minister of education has requested an additional 6,000 teachers and staff in 2011, almost twice the number recruited in 2010.

Speaking to AKnews, Safin Dizayee said the demand has been directed to the Kurdistan Council of Ministers to fill the gap in teaching staff and administration posts of new and existing schools.

Some 3,200 new teachers were assigned to teach across the Region in 2010, most of whom were primary school teachers. Now the teachers’ institutes have been superseded by colleges of basic education, so, the remaining 1,400 unemployed graduates of the institutes are given priority in 2011 recruitment proposal, said the minister.

Ismael Barzinji, the media secretary at the ministry told AKnews, currently the number of teachers in Kurdistan totals approximately 90,000.

The Kurdistan Region is entitled to 17% of the Iraqi total budget, which is currently under discussion in parliament. However, fears are that the Kurdish share may drop to 11.6% for 2011.

The general Iraqi budget for 2011 is estimated to be around 94 trillion IQD- around $80 billion U.S. Dollars, up from $71 billion in 2010.

(Source: AKnews)

…and it looks like it is going to get it.

Iraq has lofty investment targets for the next five years. Sami al-Araji, chairman of Iraq’s National Investment Commission, told Reuters:

“We’d like to go ahead and shoot for $600 billion. We hope of course we can realize it, but we will be very happy if we realize a good percentage of it. That’s if we pass the 50% in a solid way.”

This does not seem too far-fetched. New deals are reported in a steady stream by Iraq Business News, from budgets of $75m to complete hundreds of small deals to  a $50bn deal to build one million housing units for millions of people.

It doesn’t stop there. ”If we go for the two million housing units, by itself, that will give us a good chunk of that mark,” Araji continued in his interview. “As of today, 132 companies have applied. We are concentrating on 35.”

Just this week, Baghdad Province completed deals with Russian and Ukrainian companies worth $20bn for projects in various sectors: bridges, education, energy, health, roads, sewers, tourism, water and youth.

A statement from the Office of the Mayor of Baghdad, Salah Abdul-Razzaq, said that the projects include “building nine hospitals accommodating 200 beds and 400 schools with laboratories, cafeterias and gymnasiums. There are other projects in the fields of housing and tourism through building a hotel at Baghdad International Airport and 50,000 housing units.”

“Other projects include transport field through building an expressway adjacent to Tigris river 250 km long…which contributes to transport 10,000 passengers an hour, in addition to building five bridges in different areas of the capital and other projects in the field of youth including building 14 swimming pools, 20 entertainment and sports clubs, 12 women’s clubs, football and basketball fields and 28 houses for culture and arts; and a power station with capacity of 1,300 mw will be built as well.”

(Sources: Reuters, Nina, Office of the Mayor of Baghdad)

Kurdistan’s sixth international trade fair in Erbil opened on Monday with 850 companies from 25 countries. Hundreds of companies are at the fair for the first time.

Albert Awun of EFB Arak, which organised the fair, told AKnews: “The percentage of the participating new companies in the exhibition compared to last year is about 50%, while the estimated amounts of the major projects that the Iraqi government is working on to invest in the infrastructure, housing, agriculture, transportation, health, education and communication projects is estimated to about 70 billion U.S. dollars.

“The fair includes national pavilions from Austria, Britain, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Kuwait, Iran, Jordan, Turkey, in addition to the participation of many other countries such as the United States, Belgium, Poland, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.”

With Germany being represented by 30 companies, a spokesperson for the country’s Economy Ministry gave his support to German businesses entering Iraq. He said:  ”Some companies recognize for the first time the market and investment opportunities in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. German companies are participating in various fields: consulting, engineering, construction, logistics, hotels and restaurants, as well as pharmaceutical companies, banks, and the production equipment and special equipment.”

A senior politician for the Czech Republic also said that he is optimistic for the economic development made in Kurdistan, as evidenced by the huge turnout at the fair, reports AKnews.

 Dr Barham Ahmad Saleh, President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, said that the presence of so many countries is evidence of the confidence of these states in the Kurdistan region and its future, which is evidence that it has become a safe site and a gateway to Iraq.

He added that the Kurdistan Regional Government has adopted a “prudent policy towards prosperity, economic growth and general openness of the private sector and the private sector must play a role in this advancement.” Investment in the region has reached $13bn.

The fair is expecting 60,000 visitors in the first five days.

(Sources: AKnews, Kurdistan Regional Government)

The German School in Erbil, Kurdistan-Iraq was officially opened on 16 September by Safin Muhsin Dizayee, the Regional Government’s Education Minister, Nihad Qoja, the Chairman of the School Association and Stefan Bantle, the Head of the German Consulate-General in Erbil.

It is thus the newest of a total of more than 130 German schools abroad and the first in Iraq since the Baghdad school was closed in 1990. It will be attended by approximately 50 children in primary classes one to five, with another 50 children in the nursery. The school provides a place for shared learning and intercultural dialogue, above all for children from Kurdish families returning from Europe. The Federal Foreign Office provides financial and personnel contributions for the German School in Erbil. Cornelia Pieper, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, issued the following statement on the opening of the school:

“The school is of great importance to Germany, too, especially with regard to providing an education for the children of Iraqi Kurds who have lived in Germany and are now returning to their homeland. Education grants people access to social, economic and cultural life. It is the foundation for a future of one’s own choosing. Education creates prospects and is the key to prosperity. For these reasons the Federal Foreign Office will support the German School in Erbil and advise it on teaching matters.”

Since 2003, Germany has supported Iraq with diverse projects aimed at political, economic and social reconstruction. Over this period, it has spent a total of some 400 million euro on the country. In addition to education policy, the German Government is giving special priority to the reform of the judicial system, the development of a vocational education system and the protection of human rights. It has also forgiven debts of 4.8 billion euro.

(Source: KRG)

The American University in north Iraq’s Sulaimaniya city has decided to grant Bachelor degrees in Civil and Mechanical Engineering, according to a report from Aswat al-Iraq.

All Iraqi students have been invited to join it, whatever their national, racial or religious background may be, the University’s Academic Adviser said on Tuesday.

“The University shall accept any student in the above faculties,” John Achresto told a news conference, adding that the level of study will be up to the highest international levels.

He said that his University “is the first university of its kind to get the approval of the U.S. High Liberal Education Academy in this respect.”

The American University in Sulaimaniya was established in 2007, has 375 students, and uses the English language in its studies.

(Source: Aswat al-Iraq)

The Ministry of Education has built 125 schools in the past six months, according to a report from Azzaman.

Sahar Abdulamir, the ministry’s information officer, said 87 schools have been refurbished and repaired over the same period.

“We have also added new annexes and extensions to 52 more schools,” she added.

Abdulamir said the ministry had completed 96 educational projects throughout the country – she gave no details about the nature of these projects, but the country faces shortages in school buildings.

The construction of schools falls short of the growth in student population in Iraq. Many schools are overcrowded, offering teaching over three different shifts a day.

(Source: Azzaman)

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – In 2007, a Soldier in Talil came up with a simple idea to foster relations between the United States military and Iraq – provide desperately needed engineering textbooks to a local Iraqi university.

Working through connections with his alma mater, Oregon State University, then-Captain Joshua Mater, who was a Civil Affairs officer with the 98th Civil Affairs Battalion, coordinated a book donation that netted the Thi Qar University School of Engineering $30,000 in new engineering textbooks from OSU.

Not surprising for a guy who, as an undergraduate, organized an alumni fundraiser to benefit the Military Science Scholarship Endowment Fund for future cadets at OSU and Western Oregon University, raising more than $2,000.

What is surprising, however, is that Mater, now the deputy plans officer for the 402nd Army Field Support Brigade, at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, is the co-founder and CEO of an influential international non-profit organization.

In 2008, Mater and fellow Soldier Jesus Quispe, who coincidentally is the Redistribution Property Assistance Team logistics management specialist for 2nd Battalion, 402nd Army Field Support Brigade at JBB, co-founded the Michael Scott Mater Foundation in honor of Josh’s Father who passed away in 2002 after battling cancer. The MSMF seeks to create opportunities for individuals and communities by providing financial resources, work-force training, cross cultural exchanges and sustainable solutions to real world challenges. Quispe serves as the foundation’s chief operating officer.

“The decision to start MSMF wasn’t an easy one,” said Mater who hails from Corvallis, Ore., and now resides in Charlotte, N.C. “Building an organization from scratch takes hard work and dedication; doing it from Iraq was nearly impossible. However being a part of nation building and helping individuals in need is the most rewarding aspect of my life.”

The MSMF, which operates in several countries including Iraq and Peru, in addition to the United States, conducts programs to bolster international relations and economic growth.

The MSMF Green Micro-Loan Initiative provides business training, networking opportunities and loans, from $1,000 to $20,000, to entrepreneurs in order to help start or grow new or existing business with an emphasis on sustainability. The foundation’s World Empowerment Initiative develops job skills through vocational training in vulnerable communities.

MSMF partners with businesses, schools, and governments to provide individuals with the necessary skills to enter or re-enter the workforce.

The MSMF Sustainable Solutions Initiative is built on the concept of coalition development between members of academia, industry, government and communities in order to promote the development and implementation of green technologies and sustainable practices throughout the world. The foundation’s School4School Initiative focuses on international education strategies to help meet the twin challenges of preparing Americans for a global environment, while continuing to attract and educate future leaders from abroad.

“The Sustainable Solutions Initiative has allowed MSMF to meet and work with some of the most dedicated professionals in Iraq by building a sustainable higher education system from the ground up,” Mater said. “I am constantly amazed at their willingness to promote change in the face of such immediate danger.”

Since Mater returned to Iraq in Sept. 2008, he has focused much of his scant personal time to coordinating foundation initiatives. His current “big push” is the Coalition for Sustainable Engineering Education in Iraq.

The idea came up in August 2009, when MSMF and OSU hosted a delegation of 19 Iraqi engineering professors and Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research officials in Oregon. Invited by Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and financed by the US Embassy in Baghdad, the delegation took part in a two-week conference focusing on sustainable engineering and construction management protocol in order to develop communication between the various institutions, develop an outline for student/faculty exchanges and brainstorm other initiatives.

“The four women of the Iraqi delegation were the architects of the CSEE,” Mater said. “They went out into the hotel lobby and an hour and-a-half later they had come up with the concept for this plan.”

The primary thrust of the CSEE is to build the capacity of the Iraqi university system by bringing state of the art testing laboratories to selected institutions to help the MoHESR develop and implement a national sustainability strategy which includes engineering, agriculture, and forestry among other areas. The testing laboratories will enable collaborative research between Iraqi and US academic institutions, serve as workforce training and implementation platforms for Iraq’s developing economy, and allow for an internal learning loop between CSEE member institutions that has never existed in Iraq.
Once the idea was conceptualized and presented at the conference, things started to move fast. Spearheaded by the MSMF, OSU and dedicated Iraqi professors, CSEE quickly gained the interest of the MoHESR.

After a flurry of activity to further develop the CSEE, another conference was held, this time in Baghdad. The May 12 -19 event was conducted to codify requirements among CSEE participating universities and the MoHESR in order to prepare for the official signing of the agreement. The event culminated with the MoHESR announcing the National Education Program for Sustainable Engineering Education led by Dr. Angham Alsaffar, who was selected by the MoHESR to spearhead this national effort. As guests of the Minister of Higher Education, MSMF and Catherine Mater, director of Sustainability for the OSU College of Engineering, spent seven days meeting with the 20 potential member institutions, the Ministers of Higher Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, and officials from the United States Embassy and United States Forces – Iraq.

During the conference, five key areas were identified as priorities: Water quality and conservation, including wastewater treatment and recycling; indoor and outdoor air quality; renewable energy including wind, solar and biomass technology; green built materials and construction; as well as ecosystem services and investment.
How are such lofty goals attained? One step at a time.

“The next step is to get the CSEE agreement signed by all parties; the universities, Iraqi ministries, OSU and MSMF,” Mater said. “This will take place in Baghdad in October 2010 during a week-long sustainability conference hosted by the Iraqi Minister of Higher Education, at which experts from OSU will discuss the integration of sustainability into the Iraqi higher education curriculum and how this will lead to economic development and job creation in Iraq.”

Oregon State University representatives will include President Ed Ray; College of Engineering Dean Dr. Ron Adams; College of Agriculture Dean Dr. Sony Ramaswamy, College of Forestry Dean Dr. Hal Salwasser, and College of Engineering Director of Sustainability Catherine Mater. Iraq will be represented by the ministers of higher education and agriculture, and presidents of the 20 CSEE member universities. Also on hand will be Mr. Aziz Alnassiri, chief executive officer of Ramin International Technology Solutions, who is the primary partner in developing the Information Technology capabilities within CSEE member universities – a critical component toward supporting CSEE objectives. Mater will represent the MSMF.

“OSU has an absolute commitment towards making this partnership work,” said Catherine Mater, who happens to be Josh’s mother. “Unlike normal university outreach programs which focus on student/faculty exchanges and online training, OSU’s partnership in the CSEE initiative is based on immediate capacity building within the country that will lead to economic development on the ground with an emphasis on sustainability.”

CSEE has become a component of the OSU Sustainable Energy and Infrastructure initiative which focuses on developing clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency for the State of Oregon and beyond. Unifying the research and expertise of OSU’s Colleges of Engineering, Agriculture, and Forestry, CSEE will utilize Oregon green build technologies and systems to promote economic development in Iraq.

“We are proud to have a guy like Josh on board here at the 402nd AFSB,” said Col. Lawrence W. Fuller, brigade commander. “Not only is he a valued employee, he is an inspiration to others. His efforts to build relations with our Iraqi partners are commendable. Our reason for being in Iraq is to help them rebuild their country and achieve stability and Josh does that both on and off duty.”

As USF-I and the Material Enterprise continue responsible drawdown operations and the development of Iraq’s minimum essential capability, the capacity produced by initiatives such as CSEE are critical to ensuring the Government of Iraq’s ability to become self-sustaining.

“As Iraq grows as a nation, the CSEE program can expand to meet emerging requirements. The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research is to be commended for integrating sustainability into the Iraqi higher education system in order to meet the future needs of the nation,” Mater said.

(Source: DVIDS)