The provision of healthcare is a priority in Iraq, with the government allocating an estimated $5 billion annually to cover it, and creating three committees to work on a new draft healthcare law. So far this year, we've seen several initiatives in the sector, including: USAID and the Iraqi Ministry of Health hosting the Second […]
By Padraig O'Hannelly. Before the local elections, an art student climbed the tallest building in central Baghdad and hung a banner depicting a giant eye, with the caption "We can see you", overlooking the Green Zone. It's an image that should be in the minds of all who consider bribery to be a perk of […]
By Padraig O'Hannelly. Iraqis go to the polls on Saturday in the first elections since the withdrawal of US troops at the end of 2011. While these provincial elections are important in themselves, they may also serve as a barometer of public satisfaction with the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. But the real decision […]
By Padraig O'Hannelly. In 1987, management guru and writer Tom Peters wrote that the formula for success was to under-promise and over-deliver -- in other words, to manage expectations. We can only hope that this maxim was in the mind of Iraq's Minister of Electricity, Abdulkarim Aftan [Karrem Aftan al-Jumali]., when he spoke this week about […]
By John Lee. Iraq Business News is growing. Less than three months ago, the list of subscribers to our free weekly newsletter hit 13,000 -- last week we topped 15,000! To put it another way, every working day forty new readers join the ranks of the best-informed business minds in Iraq. Many of these join on […]
"[Iraq] doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to work better." Those were the words this week of BBC's World Affairs Editor, John Simpson, a man very familiar with the workings of Iraqi society. And while no country is perfect, we can find a long list of countries that work better than Iraq at […]
The British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once said that a week is a long time in politics. If that's true, then ten years is an eternity. As we mark the tenth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, everyone has had plenty of time to consider the pros and cons of the military action, and […]
As many of our readers will already be aware, Iraq Business News has a sister publication, Libya Business News, and we are pleased to report that it’s going from strength to strength. Clearly the two countries are in different stages of development, politically as well as economically, but they face similar challenges, and those challenges bring […]
By Padraig O'Hannelly. What were you doing on this day three years ago? If you're Iraqi and were in the country at the time, the chances are that you were casting your vote in the general election, in which more than 6,500 candidates, representing 86 parties, competed for the 325 seats in parliament. It was […]
By Padraig O'Hannelly. As we approach the tenth anniversary of the US-led invasion and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime, there is much speculation about how the country and indeed the world would now look had Western powers not intervened. And while that speculation may be interesting, it can be no more than an educated […]
By Mark Simmonds, United Kingdom's FCO Minister for International Energy. Iraq is retaking its position at the energy top table. After decades of economic mismanagement and political repression, the country is emerging as one of the most important and dynamic global energy producers. Oil production has increased by over 50% in the last six years, […]
If you're a regular reader of Iraq Business News, you'll know all about the huge opportunities in sectors such as oil and gas, mining, housing, and electricity. You'll also be aware of the sorts of challenges facing the country. But if you could change just three things about Iraq, what would they be? What three […]
