Two more security firms have won contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to build the State Department a private army in Iraq, according to a report from Wired's 'Danger Room'. Contractors Triple Canopy and newcomer Global Strategies Group will contribute to the State Department’s planned protection force of 5,500 contractors. In September, the State […]
Iraq spent $450 million [540 billion Iraqi dinars] in preparation for the Arab League Summit, which has now been postponed for a year. The money was spent planting palm trees along highways, re-paving roads and restoring a palace of former dictator Saddam Hussein, according to a report from Reuters. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said […]
Business between Iraq and Germany has picked up dramatically and trade has reached levels not seen since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, Germany's Economy Ministry said on Thursday, according to a report from Reuters. Trade volumes between the two countries grew by an annual 63 percent last year, surpassing 1 billion euro ($1.5 billion) for the […]
Karbala Chamber of Commerce called on the British embassy to facilitate Iraqi merchants in getting visas to visit the UK, to increase trade between the two countries. Chairman of the Chamber, Nabeel Al-Anbary, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency that he had talks with the British ambassador and a number of international companies in Baghdad. "During […]
A member of Iraq's Integrity Committee, Aliya Nassif confirmed on Wednesday that the committee is investigating possible financial corruption in a deal by the previous government's Defense Ministry to buy military equipment from Serbia. Nassif told AKnews that the Ministry of Defense in the former government had contracted with Serbia to buy arms for the […]
Telecommunications should be one of the hottest growth industries in Iraq, but according to a report from Reuters, providers have yet to introduce 3G technology into a market where the military jams mobile phone networks to stop insurgents detonating bombs. Poor infrastructure, high operating costs, conflicts between communications regulators and security problems are stunting development […]
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has received a written notice from the federal Ministry of Finance in Baghdad, confirming release of the first oil export payment to the KRG contractors, Prime Minister Barham Salih (pictured) announced today. The Prime Minister said, “This confirmation of payment to the KRG for the Region’s contractors amounts to around […]
The Arab League meeting scheduled for May in Baghdad has been postponed until next year at the request of the Iraqi government, authorities said Thursday. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa "have agreed to the postponement of the Arab Summit," the Voices of Iraq news station reports. UPI reports that […]
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Wednesday that Iraq had been deemed safe enough for potential investors to visit, after meeting his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari (pictured) in Berlin. While discouraging tourism to Iraq, the German Foreign Ministry updated its travel warning to say that non-touristic visits 'could be considered' if sufficient precautions were […]
The railway between Baghdad and Aqaba, Jordan, got one step closer to realization on Wednesday, with the signing of a preliminary agreement between the governments of the two countries, the Iraqi Transport Ministry announced. The project, which the ministry hopes will strengthen commercial ties with Jordan, involves the construction of a 150 km connecting spur. […]
Iran's Mahshahar, a specialist oil pipe manufacturer, is in talks with Basra Investment Commission to build a factory and warehouses in Basra to provide the Iraqi State Oil Company with custom-made oil pipes. Head of the commission, Haidar Ali Fadhil, told NINA that the Iranian firm had discussed building the factory and the warehouses to international […]
Etihad, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this week celebrates its very successful first year of operations in Iraq. Etihad, the first airline in the UAE to fly to Baghdad, commenced services from Abu Dhabi to the Iraqi capital in April 2010 and two months later commenced operations to Erbil, its second […]
