By John Lee. A move in cabinet to reform Iraq's controversial debaathification law has been opposed by Sunni ministers. Current laws prevent former Baath Party members from participating in Iraq’s government and public service. The Sunni ministers said the reforms do not go far enough, while the rest of the cabinet approved them. The reforms […]
By John Lee. The Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL) is reported to be exports 100 tankers of crude oil every day from the Hamrin oil fields in southern Kirkuk. The US has previously warned that IS is using oil as a major source of funds. An Iraqi army officer, who declined to be identified, told […]
By John Lee. Iraq has bought about 80,000 tonnes of rice from Thailand. Reuters reports that the deal was agreed at a price of of $443.90 per tonne, including cost, insurance and freight free out (CIFFO). (Source: Reuters) (Rice image via Shutterstock)
By John Lee. The Iraqi Cabinet approved a draft law on Tuesday to create a new National Guard. Reuters reports that Sunni political and tribal leaders have billed the move as a way to handle their own security in the fight against the Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL). The National Guard would consist of locally […]
By Ali Mamouri for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The militant activities of the Islamic State (IS) and its counterparts have contributed to the rise of moderate Islam in the Islamic world. The fact is that it is Muslims, of all sects, who have […]
Kurdistan Regional Government’s Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, yesterday in Erbil received the Austrian Foreign Minister, Sebastian Kurz and his accompanying delegation, which included the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the European Parliament, the Austrian Ambassador to Iraq and a number of senior officials from the Austrian Foreign Ministry, as well as Iraq’s Ambassador […]
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has reported that 23 banks took part in its currency auction on Tuesday. A total of $69,611,000 was sold at a price of 1166 Iraqi Dinars (IQD) per dollar. (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)
By John Lee. Iran has issued a tender to build a second pipeline to carry natural gas to Iraq. Trade Arabia reports that the $1.5-billion project will be granted on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, and all costs will be recovered through revenues from gas exports to Iraq. A pipeline will be built from the Iranian […]
By John Lee. Dubai's Al Khaleej Sugar Refinery has resumed exports to Iraq after disruption last summer due to the conflict with Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL). The company is exporting about 600,000 to 800,000 tonnes a year to Iraq, making the country its biggest customer. “We have four vessels queuing in Umm Qasr. It […]
By John Lee. Exports of crude oil from Iraq's southern ports dipped in January to an average of 2.389 bpd, according to a report from Reuters. This is down from the record high of 2.76 million bpd in December, and was due to bad weather in the Gulf. (Source: Reuters)
Head of the KRG Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa, today received Ambassador of Armenia to Iraq Mr Karin Gregorian to discuss bilateral ties. In his first visit to the Kurdistan Region, Ambassador Gregorian commended Kurdistan Region for its political and economic developments as well as its culture of peaceful coexistence and religious tolerance. He briefed […]
By John Lee. Production at the Khabbaz oilfield, 20 km southwest of Kirkuk, remained suspended on Monday following severe damage during a weekend attack by Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL) insurgents. Oil Minister Dr. Adel Abdul Mahdi [Adel Abdel Mehdi] (pictured) said there is severe damage to the field, which was recaptured by Kurdish forces on […]
