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USAID helping Vulnerable Communities in Iraq

USAID Counselor Thomas H. Staal, a former USAID Iraq Mission Director and now one of the agency’s top officials, returned to Iraq December 5-10 to advance U.S. efforts to help Iraq’s most vulnerable communities following the defeat of ISIS. While in Baghdad, Staal met with government officials including Dr. Mahdi al-Allaq, Secretary General of the […]

12th Forum of the Iraqi-French Business Council

By John Lee. The 12th Economic Forum of the Iraqi-French Council of Businessmen [Iraqi-French Business Council] was held recently in Baghdad. Dr. Sami Al Araji, Chairman of the National Investment Commission (NIC) opened the forum with a welcoming speech to the attendees including the Iraqi Minister of Trade, French State Minister for the Foreign Trade […]

Details of Latest Strikes Against ISIS in Syria, Iraq

U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria between Dec. 11-14, conducting 42 strikes consisting of 53 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today. Officials reported details of the most recent strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Strikes in […]

Petrofac wins $160m Iraq Contract

Petrofac’s Engineering & Production Services (EPS) division has secured an award worth US$160 million from Basra Oil Company (BOC), previously known as South Oil Company (SOC), for its Iraq Crude Oil Export Expansion Project (ICOEEP). The new two-year extension reflects Petrofac’s continued delivery focus and five-year track record as the incumbent operations and maintenance service […]

Prince Charles: AMAR gives us Reason to have Faith in Humanity

By Padraig O'Hannelly. HRH The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to the work of the AMAR International Charitable Foundation on the occasion of its 25th anniversary. Addressing the celebration in London's Lancaster House on Wednesday, Prince Charles said: "Today is an opportunity to honour the work of the remarkable AMAR teams ... whose professionalism has […]

KRG, Kurdistan Parliament discuss Financial Situation

A top Kurdistan Regional Government delegation, headed by Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani held an extensive meeting with the Kurdistan Parliament Deputy Speaker Jaafar Ebrahim Eminky and heads of Parliamentary Committees of Natural Resources, Industry, Energy, Financial and Legal Affairs. The KRG delegation included Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and a number of senior officials. In […]

The Islamic State Group Lives On - in Iraq’s Deserts

This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Anbar’s western desert is a hiding place for the Islamic State group, locals say. And they fear the extremists will be back as soon as an opportunity presents itself. Last […]

Reforming and Transforming SOMO

By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Reforming and Transforming SOMO This analysis was presented via Skype Conference to the management and staff of Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) on 12th December 2017: Please click here to download […]

Iraq Falls in Ease of Doing Business Index

By John Lee. Iraq has been ranked 168th out of 190 countries in the World Bank‘s recent Doing Business 2018 report, down from 165th place the previous year. Despite the fall in the rankings, the report notes that over the previous year Iraq simplified the process of starting a business by combining multiple registration procedures […]