Custom Search

A book fair exhibiting 15,000 titles has been opened in Erbil city’s Central Library.

The book fair, organized by the media group Hana Group, in line with its motto “Books for all”, brings together 25 publishers from Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt and Iran and is expected to continue for 10 days.

The book fair is part of the efforts of the Kurdistan Democratic Youth Union, associate organizers of the fair, to introduce greater numbers of books to Kurdish readers and promote book sales in the region.

“The fair introduces some 8,000 new titles to Kurdistan” said Hana Group director, Handren Abdulqadir.

Visitors to fair will benefit from a 20% to 40% discount, in an effort to promote sales.

(Source: AKnews)

BurgerFuel Worldwide, the New Zealand-based fast food company, has sold the Master License agreement for the rights to BurgerFuel Iraq.

BurgerFuel chief executive for international markets, Chris Mason, who is based in Dubai, said:

“We’re moving forward in our plans to establish BurgerFuel in the Middle East by adding Iraq to our other territories in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Whilst Iraq poses new challenges, it's another important region and we think early establishment will allow time for us to eventually open a number of restaurants there.”

The first BurgerFuel in Iraq will open in Sulaymaniyah. The Iraqi consortium that has bought the rights for BurgerFuel Iraq also own 50% of Iraq’s North Bank financial institution as well as 50% of Pepsi Iraq.

With Pepsi being the dominant soft drink in Iraq, the consortium is looking forward to adding BurgerFuel to their stable of successful brands.

One of the new principals, Raad Braich, is already very familiar with the BurgerFuel brand and adds the Master Franchise agreement for BurgerFuel in Iraq to his interests as a board member of the Iraqi National Business Council.

“We’ve found the Iraq partnership an interesting prospect, with strong and established business partners who approached us already having a good understanding of the BurgerFuel brand as well as the local Iraqi market”, said BurgerFuel Worldwide chief executive, Josef Roberts.

“We are interested in all global territories and we seek to take advantage of our non-American, pure New Zealand positioning, wherever we can.”

(Sources: The National Business Review, Radio NZ)

By Tariq Abdell, Iraq’s political risk analyst, Founder & CEO of  Mesopotamia Insight.

The opinions expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Mr  Gates, U.S. Defense Secretary, recent visit to Iraq underlines Washington's  uneasiness and frustration with Baghdad's indecisiveness and lack of  strategic foresight in regards to the future of U.S.-Iraq postwar strategic partnership, namely, the future of U.S.-Iraq military cooperation.

Given the sacrifices endured by both countries, loss of lives and treasure, U.S. and Iraqi governments, two sovereign nations, ought to craft a clear and comprehensive postwar strategy that is capable of creating the conditions for a sustainable and successful partnership. However, before undertaking a such colossal and sensitive task, Washington and Baghdad ought to define the objectives of a such partnership (attainable and realistic), stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities, and the needed resources, e.g.,  training and equipping Iraqi Security Forces.

Nonetheless,  given the high levels of interoperability of the two militaries, the complete withdrawals of U.S. troops, including combat advisors, will undermine Iraqi Security Forces' capabilities and, subsequently, Iraq's national security, namely, air sovereignty and border security. Moreover, the ensuing security vacuum entails great risks and dire consequences:

• Emboldening the quasi-dormant Sunni and Shiite extremist groups ( AQI, Ba'atists, Jaysh al-Islami, the Promised Day Brigade, Kata’ib Hizbollah, Jaysh al-Mehdi, etc...).
• Precipitating the war between Baghdad and Kurdistan over oil-rich Kirkuk, given the ongoing territorial tensions between the Arabs, Turkmen, and Kurds.
• Disrupting Iraq's oil production and export and, subsequently, Iraq's revenues - petrodollars.
• Turning Iraq into a prime battleground for proxy wars, chiefly Saudi Vs. Iran.
• Invigorating Iran’s centuries-old expansionist and religious ambitions in Iraq - turning Iraq into a satellite Shiite Islamic theocracy.

  Case in point: the nomination of Mr. Hassan Danaifar, a Baghdad native and Qods Force (IRGC special operations unit) veteran commander, as Iran Ambassador to Iraq underscores Iran’s vested interest in building and  strengthening its military, political and religious influence in Iraq and, consequently, expanding Iran's sphere of influence in the region beyond its traditional allies Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Thus, to avoid the aforesaid  grim scenario, the Iraqi government (executive and legislative bodies) ought to outline clearly its postwar policy objectives and priorities, in accordance with the country' strategic interests. Nonetheless, the protracted political horse-trading over the security posts (defense, interior, and national security) is hindering communication channels between U.S. officials and their Iraqi counterparts and, most importantly, jeopardizing Iraq's hard-earned security gains. Furthermore, given the recent upsurge in violence, the outcomes of  such injudicious decisions could easily reignite Iraq's ethno-sectarian violence.

Drawing on past experiences, namely, Germany, South Korea, and Japan, the scheduled complete withdrawal of the U.S. combat troops from Iraq, by December 2011, presents a unique opportunity to lay the foundation for a strong and sound postwar strategic partnership, that is Susceptible to preserve and foster Iraq's nascent democracy and, most importantly, prevent Iraq from reverting to a military dictatorship,  religious tyranny, or ,worst, falling prey to Iran's Mullacracy suicidal ambitions.

Irrefutably, the success of a such momentous endeavor is contingent upon the genuine commitment and the political will of both Washington and Baghdad. Simply put, “…The one who adapts his policy to the times prospers, and likewise that the one whose policy clashes with the demands of the times does not…”  Niccolo Machiavelli.

The opinions expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

The author, Tariq Abdell, is an Iraq's political risk analyst, and Founder & CEO of Mesopotamia Insight

He can be contacted at: atariq@mesopotamiainsight.com
or
Followed on twitter: mesopotamia_iq

Renault GCC has announced that United Trading Automobile Company (UTAC), a new joint venture company formed by Mr. Khalil Abdel-Wahab Al Bunnia and partners has been appointed as the official distributor of Renault passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Iraq. The joint venture partnership is formed from a tight triangular partnership between Al Bunnia Group, CET Holding and AW Rostamani which will provide confidence and assurance to the Iraqi market.

The inauguration ceremony was held at the new Renault showroom at Arasat, Baghdad.

The appointment of UTAC marks the official launch for the Renault brand and product range in Iraq and simultaneously reinforces Iraq's continuing post-war economic recovery.

Renault's strategy in the Iraqi market is to deliver an unbeatable combination of high quality passenger and light commercial vehicles ideally suited to a wide variety of customer needs and with the proven automotive retailing, after sales service and parts expertise of AW Rostamani Group (AWR). AWR is already a well-known name in automotive industry in Iraq through its representation of the Nissan brand. AWR will take overall management responsibility for Renault's activities by adopting its best practices and taking a customer-centric approach.

Speaking at the launch event, Renault's Executive Vice President for Asia and Africa, Mr. Katsumi Nakamura stated "Renault's on-going plan is to expand its sales outside of Europe and to engineer its product range specifically for emerging markets such as Iraq. Last year, we re-launched the brand into the Saudi Arabian market and today's launch into Iraq is of equal importance as we aim to ensure 50% of Renault's global sales are in markets outside of Europe by 2013. Renault is becoming a truly international brand backed by the power of the Renault-Nissan alliance with manufacturing plants outside of France in Korea, Romania and Turkey. With the combined expertise of the partnership forming UTAC, I am confident that the Renault brand will quickly establish itself as a popular choice in the Iraqi automotive sector" he concluded.

Attending the launch event, UTAC Chairman Khalil Abdel-Wahab Al Bunnia commented "Our partnership with Renault was primarily driven by their quality product range which will be very competitively priced and ensure a low cost of ownership for Iraqi consumers. In addition to this we have carefully chosen to partner with AW Rostamani who will ensure a customer-first approach in operating UTAC's facilities. Our strategy includes expansion of the Renault sales, service and parts offering across Iraq and so this is just the first chapter in the Renault in Iraq story".

Renault GCC's Managing Director, Mr. Mustansir Lakdawala, is confident of the success of the new dealership and stated that Renault is enthusiastic to enter in Iraq with exciting models on offer and exceptional customer service.

"Iraq is an extremely important market for us and we have big plans for the coming months. In-depth planning, analysis and huge investments have been made to develop new facilities and showrooms for our esteemed clients. All the cars we bring to Iraq are tested, adapted and aligned to suit the regions requirements. I am confident that together with our new partners, UTAC, we will gain market confidence and replicate the success we have witnessed across the GCC."

UTAC's commitment to Renault in the Iraqi market is underlined by a significant investment plan of more than ID25bn including showrooms, state-of-the-art service centers plus a network of spare part outlets. UTAC also plans a significant expansion strategy in the future to increase the Renault 'footprint' in Iraq with plans for further Sales/Service/Spare parts facilities as well as commitment to a training centre. UTAC also plans to add additional retail partners to grow the geographic reach of the Renault presence in Iraq.

UTAC will offer from launch a wide range of 11 different Renault passenger and light commercial vehicles including: The Renault Logan sedan, Logan pick up and Logan van and the Logan MCV 7-seater family vehicle. The Sandero five door hatchback, the Duster SUV, the Koleos 4x4 SUV, the Megane hatch, Fluence sedan and the brand new Safrane sedan. The large Renault Trafic van will also be available.

Renault is a leading brand with a heritage of over 100 years of automotive excellence. In 1999, Renault bought a 44.3% stake in Nissan forging a powerful alliance. Today the Renault-Nissan alliance forms the fourth largest automotive group in the world.

Renowned for its cutting edge designs under the brand tagline 'Drive the Change', Renault is a pioneer when it comes to safety and is the only manufacturer that has 12 of its models certified with 5-stars from the Euro NCAP organization (European New Car Assessment Programme).

According to a report from Reuters, the Saudi-based Dao al-Jomaih Group tendered the low bid of $204.4 million to install four gas turbines in Iraq's southern Basra province.

Salam Qazaz, Iraq's deputy electricity minister, said on Tuesday that the units will have a total generating capacity of 500 megawatts (MW) and will be installed at a power plant in al-Najibiya, a district in Basra, Iraq's southern oil hub.

The units are to be installed within 17 months, he added.

"Final approval of the deal will be decided after we study the technical aspects of the tender," Qazaz told reporters in Basra.

Reuters reports that China's Machinery Engineering Corp is also party to the winning bid; AFP says the company is China National Machinery & Equipment Import & Export Corp (CMEC).

The bid beat tenders submitted by Swiss engineering group ABB, Turkey's Enka Insaat and South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries, the ministry said.

(Source: Reuters)

Iraq has awarded a $125 million [150 billion Iraqi dinars] contract to a Saudi Arabian company to build a 150 MW power plant in Basra, an Iraqi official said.

Haider Ali Fadhil, head of the Basra Investment Commission, said the Saudi-based Dao al-Jomaih Group was awarded a contract to build the plant and install two French-made gas turbines. It will take six months for the project to be completed, according to the report from Reuters.

Under the deal, the company will operate the plant and sell the electricity to the province for a three year period after finishing the installation of the turbines, Mohammed Oun, a representative of Dao al-Jomaih said.

Aswat al-Iraq, meanwhile, reports that an Emirati company called 'al-Jameeh Company' was granted the contract, which it values at $153m

(Sources: Reuters, Basra Investment Commission, Aswat al-Iraq)

Iraq has officially nominated its former Minister for Water Resources, Abdul-Latif Jamal Rashid (pictured), for the post of the Director-General of the UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Saudi-based al-Sharq al-Awsat (Middle-East) Newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The newspaper quoted Rashid as saying that his nomination for the post had been addressed in an official letter by the Iraqi Council of Ministers to the UN Food & Agriculture Organization.

“Iraq’s role in FAO reflects a responsible position towards fighting poverty, desertification, as well as striving to improve the living standards of the people, through the development of water projects, along with other projects for the improvement of production,” Rashid said.

He said that “such a position would further boost Iraq’s international goodwill, in the event of the success of FAO’s director-general to achieve his missions,” adding that he had gained broad expertise during his work with the Organization.

Rashid added that “Iraq has gained a major support by the Arab League, being a strong platform in this respect.”

(Source: al-Sharq al-Awsat, Aswat al-Iraq)

By Tariq Abdell, Iraq’s political risk analyst, and Founder & CEO of Mesopotamia Insight.

The opinions expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

In light of ongoing socio-political changes in MENA region, Iraq's massive protests, from Zakho to al-Faw, accentuate the political astuteness and the frustration of the Iraqi people with their elected officials. Disenfranchised Shiites, Sunnis, Kurdish, Arabs, and Christians are all demanding the same: an end to ethno-sectarian quota-sharing system, corruption, and, most importantly, universal access to basic services such as potable water, electricity, housing, education, healthcare, and jobs.

Nonetheless, given the legitimacy and urgency of the protestors' demands, the government nebulous responses (halving of some officials' salaries, 100-day ultimatum to incumbent ministers, boosting food ration with extra cash, etc...) are mere cosmetic measures to allay people's frustration and anger. Unarguably, the cumulative effects, hitherto, of the elected officials' ineptitude and schism are protracting decades of erroneous policies and, subsequently, the people's tribulations. Impelling the majority of the Iraqi people to question the legitimacy of their government and the effectiveness of its institutions, a dangerous threshold that could hastily throw the country back into its darkest years of sectarian violence and lawlessness.

Notwithstanding Iraq's colossal energy resources, billions of oil and natural gas reserves, Iraq fragile democracy and ineffectual institutions, in a restive region, are the breeding ground for societal and political upheavals and foreign interventions. In fact, Iraq's daunting and intricate challenges are both internal and regional:

Internal challenges:

• Lack of basic services, e.g., six million people with no access to clean water -UNICEF.
• 20 to 25 percent of Iraqis still live below the country’s poverty line.
• Unemployment rates hover around %18, notably among military-age male population.
• Higher illiteracy rates, exacerbated with massive brain drain, are eroding Iraq's skilled and professionally literate workforce.
• Rampant corruption and nepotism undermine the efficiency of the State institutions.
• Inequitable distribution and mismanagement of oil's revenues - no hydrocarbon law.
• Parliament still faces a backlog of sensitive issues.

Regional challenges:

• Given the region new geopolitical developments, heightened tensions between Iran and Saudi, Iraq could easily turn into a sectarian proxy war battleground - Shiite Vs. Sunnis.
• The fallouts of Iran's nuclear standoff with the West could easily spillover to Iraq’s already contentious politics and further undermining its stability.
• Given Kirkuk's enormous oil reserves and ethnic diversity (Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen), it's protracted dispute is a timed bomb, which could expeditiously reignite Iraq's civil war.
• Turkey’s recurrent incursion into Northern Iraq in the pursuit of the Kurdish workers party (PKK) elements and PKK assiduous attacks on the northern oil pipelines are a major threat to the country’s resources and sovereignty.
• Given the hostile intentions of some neighboring counties, the U.S. planned troops withdrawal, by the end of the year, could further jeopardise Iraq's defense capabilities.

Thus, given the enormity and complexity of the aforementioned challenges, Iraq only viable mean to fend off political instability and chaos is to renounce its sectarian-based policies and espouse an inclusive and genuine democratic system that heads to the people aspirations and protects their rights (UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights). Furthermore, both the government and opposition ought to consolidate their efforts to bolster accountability, eradicate corruption and, subsequently, strengthen the State institutions, an essential prerequisite for a rapid socio-economic recovery. To this end, the new government’s long-term vision should entail an action plan that reflects the country strategic and pressing priorities, namely:

• Genuine national reconciliation to overcome sectarian and political schism and violence.
• Overhauling of State institutions to rein in corruption and enhance efficiency.
• Merit-based appointments to promote efficiency and accountability.
• Providing access to basic services (e.g., potable water, electricity, running sewer, etc)
• Equitable distribution of oil revenues.
• Investing in human capital through education and training.
• Job creation to fend off societal and political unrest (Organized crime, for instance).
• Advancing the principles of human rights and rule of law.
• Diversifying and reviving of Iraq' strategic industries to curb its dependence on a single commodity - fossil fuel.

Conversely, in the absence of a comprehensive and inclusive socio-economic development strategy, aiming at strengthening State institutions, eradicating corruption, and addressing the aspirations of the Iraqi people, regardless of their political and religious believes, Iraq may revert to its darkest years of sectarian violence and lawlessness (05-07), giving regional players (Iran, Saudi, Turkey, Syria) a free hand in Iraq's affairs - exploiting Iraq's vulnerabilities (Shiite-Sunni strife, for instance)- to further their national interests and, subsequently, turning Iraq into a prime battleground for proxy wars, or worse, a pariah State. Simply put, “a house divided against itself cannot stand” Abraham Lincoln.

The opinions expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

The author, Tariq Abdell, Iraq's political risk analyst, and Founder & CEO of Mesopotamia Insight

He can be contacted at: [email protected]

or

Followed on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/atariqx

Bloomberg reports that KBR managers in Iraq and Kuwait are accused by US authorities of taking $45,000 in kickbacks from a dining facility subcontractor from late 2002 through 2003.

Terry Hall, who was KBR’s regional food services manager for the two countries, and his deputy, Luther Holmes, were accused of violating the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act in U.S. claims court in Washington.

“Kickbacks in military subcontracts open the door to wartime profiteering and corrupt the integrity of our government contracting process,” Assistant Attorney General Tony West said in a statement. “When we learn of such illegal conduct at the expense of taxpayers, we will pursue it.”

The allegation came as a counterclaim to a lawsuit against the government by a unit of Houston-based KBR for an alleged breach of contract.

The original lawsuit from KBR seeks $41 million it had to forfeit after an audit by the Defense Contract Audit Agency that found KBR overpaid Tamimi $41 million for dining facility costs from July 2004 to December 2004 compared to what it was paying other contractors during that time period.

In its counterclaim, the U.S. alleges that kickbacks were made by Mohammad Shabbir Khan, vice president of Tamimi Global Co., which is based in Saudi Arabia. During the time the payments were made, KBR awarded Tamimi contracts worth more than $400 million, the U.S. says, according to the Justice Department.

A spokeswoman for KBR said “The DOJ’s claim that KBR improperly awarded food services subcontracts to Tamimi is not supported by facts or law. We anticipate the DOJ’s gross overreaching in the current counterclaim to likewise be rejected. We are disappointed with the DOJ’s decision to file this suit and its vague allegations more than six years after the events in question.”

He added that when the Army asked KBR to provide food services in support of the military in Kuwait, it already was using Tamimi for food services in Kuwait and Iraq and directed KBR to use Tamimi as a subcontractor in Kuwait.

“Despite knowledge of various alleged improprieties by Tamimi, the Army continues to contract with Tamimi for such services today.”

(Sources: Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal)

About 7,000 Iraqis protested in the southern oil hub of Basra on Saturday against the presence of Saudi troops in Bahrain, highlighting the sectarian divide in Iraq.

Reuters reports that anger has been mounting among Shi'ites in Iraq, Lebanon and Iran over the movement of troops from Sunni Arab states to help Bahrain's Sunni royal family stifle pro-democracy demonstrations by majority Shi'ites.

Bahrain said on Friday more troops were coming from other Gulf states to help restore security. It has swept protesters from a central square and arrested opposition leaders.

More than 20,000 people rallied across Iraq on Friday, and several thousand on Wednesday, in demonstrations organised by the radical Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

The demonstration in Basra, and a smaller protest of about 200 people in Baghdad, was organised by the Shi'ite Dawa party.

(Sources: Reuters, AFP)