Custom Search

GardaWorld, a global leader in comprehensive security and risk management, has made its weekly security report available to Iraq Business News readers.

Prepared by GardaWorld's Risk Analysis Team in Iraq, this essential report includes short- and medium-term outlooks on the security situation, reports and commentary on recent significant events, and a detailed overview of developments across the country.

Please click here to download the latest report free of charge.

For more information on how GardaWorld's services can support your business in Iraq, please contact Daniel Matthews, Senior Director Iraq, at [email protected]

Lebanese security services arrested have reportedly arrested the former Iraqi trade minister, Abdul-Fallah al-Sudani [Abd al-Falah al-Sudani], who is convicted of corruption.

Sudani, who is wanted by Interpol, was arrested in Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport (pictured) on 10th September.

In 2012, Sudani was convicted of embezzlement in absentia and sentenced to seven years in jail.

As a leader in the former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shi'ite Dawa Party, he served as trade minister 2006-2009.

After he was accused by the Integrity Board of corruption, he attempted to flee but was arrested in Baghdad Airport. He was then released on bail and later escaped the country.

(Source: GardaWorld)

GardaWorld, a global leader in comprehensive security and risk management, has made its weekly security report available to Iraq Business News readers.

Prepared by GardaWorld's Risk Analysis Team in Iraq, this essential report includes short- and medium-term outlooks on the security situation, reports and commentary on recent significant events, and a detailed overview of developments across the country.

Please click here to download the latest report free of charge.

For more information on how GardaWorld's services can support your business in Iraq, please contact Daniel Matthews, Senior Director Iraq, at [email protected]

Reconstruction in Iraq could cost nearly $150 billion covering areas damaged by the war over the past three years, an Iraqi newspaper reported on September 7.

The World Bank has made a preliminary assessment of rebuilding costs at the request of Iraq's Reconstruction Fund for Areas Affected by Terrorist Operations, according to the Arabic language daily Al-Mada, quoting the Fund's chairman Mustafa Al-Hiti.

He said an international creditors' conference to raise funds for reconstruction projects in the Arab OPEC country would be held in Kuwait in January, adding that the two-day meeting would be sponsored by the Iraqi Fund, the World Bank and the Kuwaiti Development Fund.

Hiti said rebuilding costs in Iraq were estimated at around $36 billion in January 2016 and the estimate was revised up to $100 billion by the Iraqi Planning Ministry this year before the liberation of the northern Mosul city.

"Now we believe the costs are much higher considering the substantial damage in cities and other areas and the lost development opportunities in the country….there are also additional sums due to price changes," he said.

To reach an accurate estimate, we agreed with the World Bank to evaluate damage via satellites…we expect that the World Bank will complete the study in December so it will be presented to the Kuwait conference…after we examined this study and visited most affected areas, we believe the costs are close to $150 billion".

Hiti said the local and foreign private sector would play a major role in rebuilding and that this subject would be a key topic at the Kuwait meeting.  "We hope that meeting would raise sufficient funds for reconstruction of the affected areas…the damage is substantial and such projects cannot be executed in one year…hence we have devised a 10-year rebuilding plan starting in 2018”.

(Source: GardaWorld)

Moscow is holding negotiations with Iraqi authorities on the possibility of moving the Russian embassy, which currently occupies a building in Baghdad’s Mansour district, to a safer area of the Iraqi capital city, local media reported, citing a Russian diplomatic source.

"The negotiations to provide Russia with a new site for the embassy in Baghdad are underway. In general, the Iraqis are ready to provide it.  We are now assessing the propriety of accepting the site that the Iraqi authorities are proposing as this depends on the safety and the type of construction", the source told press.   The source added that it was dangerous to stay in the current Embassy building, and only men without their families were sent to work there.

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov (pictured) has reaffirmed Moscow's support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Following a meeting in Moscow between Bogdanov and the chief of Iraq’s anti-terrorist service Talib al-Kenani, Bogdanov also stated that Russia opposes any external interference in Iraq's internal affairs.  He also said that that Russia will help to enhance the anti-terrorist capabilities of the Iraqi government.

For his part, al-Kinani said that Baghdad highly valued the cooperation with Russia in the anti-terrorism fight.

(Source: GardaWorld)

The head of the Jordanian truck owners Mohammed Khair al-Daoud said on September 7 that about 6,000 trucks are currently at high readiness and are ready to transport goods to Iraq through the Trebil crossing.

Al-Daoud said in a statement to the Jordanian newspaper “Al-Rai”:

“... the Association of truck owners held several meetings with the Iraqi embassy to discuss the transfer of goods to Iraq through the Trebil crossing through obtaining visas and coordination with the competent authorities to discuss the process of transporting goods in the exchange areas”. 

He pointed out that “the Iraqi ambassador had shown great cooperation with the Union of truck owners during the past days” stressing that “in the event of the completion of security and technical measures, the Jordanian trucks will carry out exchanges of goods with Iraqi trucks during the coming period."

(Source: GardaWorld)

Iraq has signed for receiving a Japanese loan worth USD270 million according to a statement from the Japanese Embassy in Iraq.

The loan is designed to improve Iraq’s financial situation and to help the country proceed with reforms, the statement by the embassy said, noting that it comes as a second tranche of a USD500 million Japanese financial assistance commitment.

The statement said falling world oil prices and spending on defence and refugee relief portfolios had largely reduced the country’s budget resources. It also pointed to earlier assessments by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which estimated Iraq’s budget deficit for 2016 by 14.1% and public debt for the same year by 6.99% of the GDP.

In February, Japan approved a loan of about $100 million to support humanitarian, counter-terrorism and infrastructure projects in Iraq.  In January, Japan agreed to lend Iraq up to 27.2 billion yen ($240 million) to rebuild damaged electricity infrastructures in areas recaptured from Islamic State militants.

(Source: GardaWorld)

MP Adil al-Nuri of the State of Law Alliance has said the integrity commission will commence procedures to investigate the Minister of Transport, Kazem Finjan, on corruption and waste of public funds.

Al-Nuri added that the Integrity Commission will renew a push to prosecute senior officials involved in corruption during the coming parliamentary period.

(Source: GardaWorld)

GardaWorld, a global leader in comprehensive security and risk management, has made its weekly security report available to Iraq Business News readers.

Prepared by GardaWorld's Risk Analysis Team in Iraq, this essential report includes short- and medium-term outlooks on the security situation, reports and commentary on recent significant events, and a detailed overview of developments across the country.

Please click here to download the latest report free of charge.

For more information on how GardaWorld's services can support your business in Iraq, please contact Daniel Matthews, Senior Director Iraq, at [email protected]

A Jordanian security official has stated that the Karamah crossing will be opened for the public on the third day of Eid, September 3, while staff will be deployed from August 30.

"We have conducted a trial run at the crossing with our Iraqi counterparts earlier this week at the al-Karamah crossing on August 20," the official said.

He also said that the decision was made to reopen the crossing, after a year-long closure, following clearing operations conducted by the Iraqi and Jordanian military forces against IS militants in the area.

Discussions to reopen the border crossing have been continuing over the past few months between Iraq and Jordan.  The Karamah border crossing connects the Jordanian town of Ruwaished with the Iraqi town of Trebil.

The Iraqi ambassador to Jordan, Safia Al Souhail had previously stated that “the Iraqi Cabinet awarded a contract to a security firm to secure the road connecting Baghdad to Trebil.”

According to Jordanian statistics, more than one million Iraqi and Jordanian passengers used to pass through the Trebil crossing every year, and the facility was extremely important to both countries as it was the only land border through which commodities are traded between Iraq and Jordan.’

(Source: GardaWorld)