Iraq Business News brings you the latest Iraq Industry & Trade News, with information on developments and opportunities.
The People's Republic of China is expected to open its first diplomatic mission in the Kurdistan Region by the end of this year. Currently there are 27 foreign and diplomatic representations in Erbil, including four of the five permanent United Nations Security Council members. The opening of a consulate-general was discussed at a meeting today […]
By John Lee. Reuters reports that an unexplained blast occurred at Umm Qasr commodities port on Saturday. It was not immediately what the cause of the blast was, or whether it had affected imports and exports. The port does not handle crude oil shipments. (Source: Reuters)
The Swedish Ambassador to Iraq, Jörgen Lindström, met with Minister Falah Mustafa today to follow up on recent developments in Kurdistan and in the greater region. Sweden currently has a Section Office established in Erbil as well as representation from the Swedish Trade Council. Sweden continues to be one of Iraq’s largest European trading partners […]
By Miriam Ali for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Women in Iraq have made huge leaps in terms of obtaining the right to work and participate in the economy. Nevertheless, they are still subject to sexual and social discrimination, not […]
The Governments of the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America reaffirmed their strategic partnership during a meeting of the Political and Diplomatic Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) on August 15, in Washington, DC. This meeting, held at the Department of State, was co-chaired by Secretary Kerry and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. This […]
Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Iraq, Mr Amaralal Sumith Nakandala, last Wednesday met with the Kurdistan Regional Government's Head of Foreign Relations to discuss ways of establishing relations between the Kurdistan Region and Sri Lanka. Ambassador Nakandala's visit is the first by a Sri Lankan diplomat to the Kurdistan Region and follows the re-opening of the […]
By Harith Hasan for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Last month, demonstrators in the southern Iraqi cities of Nassiriya and Basra organized nightly rallies to protest the government’s failure to provide enough electricity for households during the notoriously hot summer. With temperatures exceeding 113 degrees Fahrenheit during July […]
On Thursday, Marathon Oil Corp. said it expects to start producing oil from its operations in the Kurdish region of Iraq within the next two years. The company posted an 8.4 percent increase in net income for the second quarter of 2013, according to its quarterly report. According to UPI, the company said it is planning […]
China's largest energy firm, PetroChina, will join ExxonMobil in developing Iraq's giant West Qurna oilfield and is in talks with Lukoil to buy into a second project at the field, according to the South China Morning Post. China is already the top foreign player in Iraq's southern oilfields, and a deal at West Qurna would boost […]
On Friday, the International Energy Agency warned that oil supply from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was falling, as it raised its forecast for demand for the exporters group's crude this year. "Continued supply outages in Iraq and Libya…may reduce the group's output in coming months," the IEA said in its monthly oil […]
Iraq's oil exports are stagnating compared with numbers from this time last year, and are set to fall sharply next month. This plateau in exports comes as major work is carried out in the vital southern export terminals, Reuters sources explained. Infrastructure and security problems are at the heart of Iraq's struggle to keep pace […]
According to Bloomberg, wheat fell the most in three weeks after Iraq and Egypt shunned U.S. grain in tenders yesterday, indicating ample global supplies. Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, bought 60,000 metric tons from both Romania and Ukraine on Aug. 6, while Iraq purchased 150,000 tons of Australian and Canadian grain. “Wheat’s lower because we missed out on […]
