Niqash has issued the following listing of the new Iraqi cabinet, translated from the Arabic official government announcement: Deputy Prime Ministers: Hoshyar Zebari (Kurdish); Saleh al-Mutlaq (Sunni); Bahaa al-Araji (Shiite) Ministry of Agriculture: Falah Hassan al-Zaidan (Sunni) Ministry of Communication: Kazem Hassan Rashed (Shiite) Ministry of Construction and Housing: Tariq al-Khikani (Shiite) Ministry of Culture: […]
By John Lee. The Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, Ali Mohsin Ismail (pictured), has been appointed Governor o the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), replacing Dr Abdulbasit Turki [Abdul Basit Turki Saeed]. His position as GSCOM is to be filled by Dr. Hamed khalaf Ahmad. Mr Ismail said he was leaving his former […]
By John Lee. Iraq's Commission of Integrity has reportedly repatriated five billion Iraqi dinars [$4.3 million] that were smuggled to Lebanon. According to Aswat al Iraq, the money, in addition to some real estate investments, were illegally obtained by British businessman James (Jim) McCormick, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Britain for […]
By John Lee. BasNews reports that the unemployment rate in Kurdistan has risen from 7 percent at the end of 2013 to 10 percent currently. The number unemployed is nearly 100,ooo, of which 52 percent are men. The increase has been blamed on the general economic situation in Iraqi Kurdistan, and on the sanctions that Baghdad […]
By John Lee. The new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Ibrahim al-Jaafari has met the new French Ambassador to Iraq, Mr. Francois Bartley, and received a copy of his credentials. During the meeting, they discussed relations between Iraq and France and ways to enhance prospects of joint cooperation. They also discussed the ongoing preparations for […]
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a contribution of €2 million from the Government of Germany to help fund its emergency field kitchens in Iraq supplying hot meals to over a quarter of a million people. Since August, WFP, alongside its local partner, the Barzani Charity Foundation, has successfully served more than […]
By John Lee. Reuters reports that a revised contract signed last week by BP and China's CNPC for the Rumaila oilfield has raised both companies' stakes in the project. Thamer Ghadhban (pictured), energy adviser to former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, told the news agency that BP's share has been increased from 38 percent to 47.6 […]
By John Lee. The new Oil Minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, has taken up his new post at a ceremony at the Ministry of Oil's head office. The new minister thanked his predecessor, Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi [Elaibi], and stressed the importance of the oil sector to Iraq's economy. Eoin O'Cinneide, writing for UpstreamOnline, has speculated that the […]
By John Lee. A bank account belonging to Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. envoy to Iraq, and another belonging to his wife, Cheryl Benard, have been unfrozen by the high court in Vienna, Austria. According to a report from Bloomberg, the the accounts were unfrozen on 3rd September, a week before reports that the U.S. […]
UNESCO officials concluded a series of meetings held with director generals in Ministries of Education in the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan regional government, as well as representatives from local NGOs, to discuss ways to enhance cooperation and accelerate the implementation of UNESCO programmes targeting 10,000 out-of-school children and youth in Iraq. “UNESCO […]
By Shukur Khilkhal for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Modern-Day ‘Cultural Sinbad’ Spreads Literature across Iraq The worsening violence plaguing Iraq has not prevented the bookseller Star Mohsen Ali from organizing book fairs in cities and provinces across the country. Since […]
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has reported that 18 banks took part in its currency auction on Thursday. A total of $195,372,000 was sold at a price of 1166 Iraqi Dinars (IQD) per dollar. (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)
