Archive | Politics

Iraq Business News brings you the latest Iraqi politics news, keeping you up to date with the latest information and developments.

With IS gone, Barbers are busy in Mosul

By Omar Sattar for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The Islamic State (IS) issued many decrees when it took over Mosul in 2014, including one that banned barbers. As one might imagine, with the recent liberation of the […]

Huge Demand for Iraqi Govt Bonds

By John Lee. Iraq opened the books yesterday on its first independent bond sale in a decade. "Investor demand was huge," writese Marcus Ashworth at Bloomberg. "The deal was seven times oversubscribed." The $1-billion, dollar-denominated bond, maturing in March 2023, was expected yield 7 percent, but demand enabled that to be cut to 6.75 percent. […]

Bangladesh Embassy to open Office in Erbil

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani received Mr. Abu Magsoud Forhad, Bangladesh's Ambassador to Iraq. Ambassador Forhad discussed his government’s intention to open in Erbil an office of his country’s Iraq embassy. Discussing the situation of the Bangladeshi nationals, resident in Iraq and Kurdistan Region, he said opening of embassy’s office in Erbil will facilitate […]

Sharp Recovery in Non-Oil GDP Predicted

By John Lee. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted average growth of 3.1 percent annually in Iraq's non-oil real GDP until the end of 2022. This compares to an average fall of 7.2 percent per annum from 2014 to 2016, following the insurgency by the Islamic State group (IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh). It also […]

IMF Approves Payment of $825m to Iraq

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the second review of Iraq’s three-year Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), which is designed to support Iraq’s economic reform program and restore fiscal balance over the medium term. The completion of the second review allows the authorities to draw the equivalent of SDR 584.2 million (about […]

Video: Kurdish Referendum causes Concern in Iraq

From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. With the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group defeated by government forces in northern Iraq, the question of Kurdish independence could pose a new problem in the country. Tensions have […]

Engaging with PMU "Necessary to check Iran's Influence in Iraq"

By Ali Hashem for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iran Business News. The war for Mosul has come to an end; the city is freed and the Islamic State (IS) is out. But the reverberations of the monthslong battle will likely impact Iraq as a nation […]

Iraq to sell new USD Govt Bonds

By John Lee. The Financial Times reports that Iraq has appointed Citi, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan as joint bookrunners for a new five-year government bond. The issue is described as a dollar-denominated, long-dated, benchmark-scale bond; investor meetings scheduled over the coming days. In January, Iraq raised $1 billion of five-year bonds, guaranteed by the US, […]

Iran and Iraq discuss Increased Cooperation

Ranking diplomats from Iran and Iraq held two meetings of a joint political committee on Sunday to explore avenues for the expansion of ties between Tehran and Baghdad, particularly in the economic field. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari and Iraq’s Deputy Foreign Minister Nazar Khairallah co-chaired two separate […]

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Parliament to Quiz Minister over Alleged Corruption

By John Lee. Iraq's parliament will reportedly question acting Trade Minister Salman al-Jumaili over allegations of corruption. Member of Parliament Alia Nassif told Reuters that the Minister will be questioned on 3rd August over import deals for contaminated rice and licences for new mills. amongst other issues. In 2015 authorities issued an arrest warrant for […]

PM Barzani receives UK’s new Consul General

KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani received Mr. Martin Warr, the new Consul General of the United Kingdom in Erbil, and his accompanying delegation. Consul General Warr commended the role of the Peshmerga forces in the fight against ISIS and the Kurdistan Region for hosting large numbers of internally displaced people, who fled ISIS atrocities and […]