Iraq Business News brings you the latest Iraq Industry & Trade News, with information on developments and opportunities.
The first official and business delegation from Lithuania has visited the Kurdistan Region to meet with local officials and explore potential areas of cooperation. The large group was headed by the Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Economy, Mr Daumantas Lapinskas, and included the Vice-Minister of Agriculture, Mr Mindaugas Kuklierius, and the Deputy Director of External Economic Relations […]
AFP reports that Japan is to offer $530 million in loans to Iraq, in part to help rebuild oil refineries, as Tokyo seeks to diversify fuel supplies after the tightening of sanctions on Iran. A Japanese foreign ministry spokesman said that loans totalling 42.5 billion yen have been pledged to Baghdad to aid four infrastructure […]
Iraq's Ministry for Industry and Minerals has created a new department specialising in nanotechnology, according to Aswat al-Iraq. This department will provide information and ideas to all researchers inside the country and abroad, and will be affiliated with the Industrial Research Directorate. The Directorate has 8 research centers in a variety of industrial fields, including […]
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has taken delivery of five helicopters to help control traffic, says Aswat al-Iraq. We bought helicopters to develop the traffic system in the region and to use the modern technology to tackle the all traffic problems, The Kurdistan Region has seen a steady increase in the number of victims of […]
Saudi Arabia has named an ambassador to Baghdad for the first time since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari (pictured) told Reuters on Tuesday. "This is a very positive development," he added. A Saudi Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "We nominated our ambassador in Jordan [Fahd al-Zaid] as ambassador for Iraq […]
About 400 foreign companies have opened branches and representation offices in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region to expand their business in the fast-growing investment market here, Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Minister of Trade and Industry said. AKnews reports that about 430 foreign companies registered in 2011 to do business in Kurdistan – an increase of about […]
The first international trade fair has been opened in the city of Kirkuk, north east of Baghdad, with dozens of foreign companies participating, according to AKnews. The three-day fair that was opened by Kirkuk governor Najmaddin Karim on Tuesday brought together about 100 foreign and local companies. Kamil Salayi, mayor of Kirkuk, told AKnews that […]
Iraq's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by an average of at least 9.4 percent annually between 2012 and 2016, the deputy governor of the central bank, Mudher Kasim, told Reuters on Sunday. "We expect Iraq's GDP in 2015 to jump to $360 billion from $170 billion currently ... The reason will come […]
The 'Iraqi Automobile Industry Company' [State Company for Automotive Industry] has reportedly signed a contract with the South Korean company Hyundai to manufacture and assemble Hyundai cars. The contract, worth with 44 billion Iraqi dinars [$36 million], involves the production of 2000 saloon cars annually. The manufacturing line is to be completed within three years. […]
AKnews reports that Iraq's planning ministry has shortlisted six international inspection companies as possible replacements for Swiss company SGS. At a press conference in Baghdad on Monday, Planning Minister Ali Shukri (pictured) confirmed that SGS had lost the contract for Pre-Importation Inspection, Testing, and certification of Goods into Iraq (ICIGI) due to poor performance, and […]
A member of the Scottish Parliament joined a delegation of British MPs to the Kurdistan Region last week in order to meet local leaders and explore ways to strengthen political, cultural and economic ties with the Region. The delegation, which consisted of members from Westminster’s All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the Kurdistan Region and the […]
According to a report from AKnews, the Iraqi Ministry of Planning has decided to continue working with the Swiss-based company SGS until the end of February. Abdul Zahra al-Hindawi, a ministry spokesman, said the decision was taken in response to the demands of businessmen and importers until the completion of their commercial dealings with the […]
