Iraq's newly-appointed President, Jalal Talabani (pictured), is apparently using his full allowance of 15 days to formally appoint a new Prime Minister, thus allowing the haggling over the details to continue. And while Nouri al-Maliki remains the 'agreed' candidate, we should never under-estimate the Iraqi parliament's ability to throw us a last-minute surprise. If al-Maliki […]
Following the re-election of Nouri al-Maliki to the position of Prime Minister, US President Barack Obama welcomed the formation of the new Iraqi government. "This agreement marks another milestone in the history of modern Iraq," he said at the G2o conference in Seoul. "There are still challenges to overcome, but all indications are that the […]
Just as Iraq's politicians had finally hammered out a deal to create the next government, Ayad Allawi [Iyad Allawi] joined an estimated 57 Iraqiya MPs in walking out of the chamber. The parliament, meeting in only its second session since the election in March, had just elected as Speaker Osama al-Nejeifi [al-Nujaifi], a Sunni hard-liner […]
After eight months it seems that finally we are close to an agreement on the formation of the next Iraqi government. When the talks finally reach a conclusion, there's a long list of issues to be addressed by the incoming government, not least of which is Iraq's abysmal ranking in the World Bank's latest Doing […]
Our sources in Iraq tell us that negotiations are expected to continue late on Wednesday to decide the formation of the next Iraqi government, and it looks likely that the parliamentary session that had been postponed until Thursday will be delayed further. It is now generally accepted that Nouri al-Maliki will retain the position of […]
As Iraq's politicians continue to haggle over the formation of the next government, the World Bank has issued its latest Doing Business 2011 report, and the incoming administration would do well to read it. Consider the following: Out of 183 countries monitored, Iraq ranks 166th, behind even Haiti and Zimbabwe; No business regulation reforms have […]
Iraq Business News has received information late on Sunday that between 30 and 34 politicians have defected from Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya bloc, and will support Nouri al-Maliki's bid to form the next Iraqi government. Although these rumours are still unconfirmed, they are from a source trusted by Iraq Business News. The details are understood to […]
From Reporters Sans Frontieres: The press freedom situation is better in Iraqi Kurdistan than it is in neighboring regions, and with 850 media outlets officially registered and 5,000 journalists, has considerably improved over the last decade. Yet the number of attacks against journalists has also grown steadily over the last two years. Police and security […]
By Leanne Case, reporting from Istanbul. I’ve written a fair number of articles extolling the potential of Iraq to British business, I make no apologies for this and believe strongly in the future of Iraq. So do hundreds of international companies! A significant number of who attend the now numerous conferences and events aimed at […]
According to a report from Associated Press, Iraq's 325 members of parliament have collected their $90,000 stipends, are claiming $22,500 a month in salaries and allowances, and are spending free nights in Baghdad's finest hotel. That's what they get for attending the only session of parliament since the March elections, a session that lasted about […]
The extremes of risk and reward in Iraq were very much in evidence over the past week. On the negative side: Ayad Allawi, in his attempts to bolster his bid for the top job, has reportedly reneged on his commitment to honour oil and gas contracts signed by they current administration; The government has admitted […]
We get many enquiries at Iraq Business News relating to the future of the Iraqi dinar (IQD), for example: Will the Iraqi dinar increase in value? Will the currency be re-denominated, dropping the 'three zeros'? Is it wise to buy Iraqi dinar? Firstly, Iraq Business News is not in a position to give investment advice. […]
