Iranian Universities enter Iraq
Posted on 18 October 2017 .
By Zep Kalb for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iran Business News.
In the aftermath of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the country's educational system all but collapsed. Illiteracy rates have exploded. Universities have turned into sectarian battlegrounds.
Systemic violence — including beatings, rape and death threats — has forced students and faculty out of campuses. As state provision of higher education has receded, private donors have set up alternative institutions, often with a sectarian and religious twist. Foreign actors have also stepped in to fill the void.
Before the US-led invasion, education indicators in oil-rich, Baathist-controlled Iraq improved similarly as in other middle-income countries, and in several ways even more so. The country’s first university, Baghdad University, opened its doors in 1957. In 1968, the government made education free and compulsory at all levels.
In 1977, the eradication of illiteracy was made legally binding. The developmental push appeared to be working. By 1980, Iraq had already achieved near universal primary school enrollment.
Saddam Hussein’s devastating eight-year war with Iran in the 1980s and the sanctions imposed by the West over his invasion of Kuwait in the 1990s slowed these gains.
By 2000, the literacy rate of youth aged 15-24 years old stood at 84.8%, slightly higher than that of regional neighbor Egypt. The gender gap was also narrowing: Female literacy rates stood at 80.5% in 2000, a figure Egypt reached only in 2006. At the same time, underinvestment in education by a cash-strapped government led to an aged and creaking infrastructure.
For all its ills, the collapse of the Baathist regime in 2003 and its replacement with a US-installed government wrecked the country’s educational system. Junior, inexperienced American officers who failed to understand the complexities of maintaining peace between the sects were put in charge of higher education.
Posted in Iraq Education and Training News 1 Comment
Putin boxed in by Iran, Turkey on Iraqi Kurdish referendum
Posted on 03 October 2017 .
From Al Monitor. Any opinions here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had been banking on Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani.
Over the past year, Russia has invested over $4 billion in the Kurdistan Region’s energy sector, overtaking the United States as the largest investor. By making such a commitment to northern Iraq, Putin was likely counting on both an eventual energy windfall and another card to play as a regional broker at the expense of the United States.
He could count on good, or at least working, relationships with Damascus, Tehran, Ankara, to some extent Baghdad and, with the massive oil and gas venture, Erbil.
What the Russian president had not banked on was that Barzani would go ahead with the independence referendum on Sept. 25 against widespread international and regional opposition. The Kremlin, of course, could not support ethnic separatism, and was probably hoping for a last-minute deal with Baghdad to stave off the vote.
As the prospects of a postponement collapsed, Barzani likely saw Russia’s investment as a hedge against the nearly unified international opposition to its referendum on independence.
Putin, of course, kept up appearances of being in control, but there was no denying the unusual nature of his visit to Ankara on Sept. 28 for consultations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, just three days after the referendum vote.
Erdogan’s position was predictable and blustery, including when he said, “No one has a right to throw our region into the fire,” as Yekaterina Chulkovskaya reports. But Putin sought to dial it down, and instead referred to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement, which included the phrase “Moscow respects the national aspirations of the Kurds” and the hope for a “constructive and respectful dialogue, with a view to devising a mutually acceptable formula of coexistence within a single Iraqi state,” as reported by Jasper Mortimer.
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Anbar Op aims to Restore Iraqi-Syrian Border
Posted on 02 October 2017 .
By Shelly Kittleson for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Iraqi security forces have moved toward the key Islamic State-held town of Qaim on the Syrian border, meeting with scant resistance. The operation is ongoing, and they will likely clear the remaining IS-held areas in Anbar province, Iraq’s largest, in the near future.
Moving northward from Rutba, the Iraqi army, police and Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) successfully retook part of a key highway and the small phosphate-rich mining town of Akashat on Sept. 16.
A few days later, Iraqi security forces and groups of local tribal fighters being trained by international coalition troops at the nearby Ain al-Asad base — where British, US and Danish military are stationed — began pushing westward toward the towns of Anah, Rawa and Qaim along the Euphrates River on Sept. 19.
Al-Monitor spoke to the officer in charge of Mohammedi, a gateway town to the Badiya and Jazeera area of operations of western Anbar, on Sept. 18.
Lt. Col. Abd Hussein noted that the town, which has fewer sleeper cell attacks than nearby Hit, “is less dangerous and easier to manage than some in the region due to its tribal homogeneity,” since almost all of the inhabitants from the town are from the Albu Mahal tribe.
Many of the members of the tribe who fled IS-held Qaim came to Mohammedi and are being housed with distant relatives. One tribe member, a former bulldozer driver who is close friends with many of the local dignitaries in the town, expressed concern to Al-Monitor about what will happen after his native town along the Syrian border is retaken.
“If Iran gets a direct route through Iraq to Lebanon and Syria that goes through Qaim, this will be a very big problem,” he said.
Posted in Security Comments Off on Anbar Op aims to Restore Iraqi-Syrian Border
Liberation From ISIS Underway in Iraqi Towns
Posted on 23 September 2017 .
Operations have begun to liberate western Anbar and Huwayjah, the last two areas in Iraq where the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria hold territory, said Army Col. Ryan Dillon, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi made the operations announcement to eradicate ISIS, Dillon said, speaking to Pentagon reporters via teleconference out of Baghdad, today.
“Already, the [Iraqi forces] have routed ISIS in Akashat, Rihanna, and just this morning they have cleared 11 villages, completing their first phase of operations in Huwayjah,” the spokesman said. “These operations are evidence, and showcase the [Iraqis’] increased capacity as a battle-tested, formidable fighting force.”
It is clear that ISIS terrorists are overwhelmed and outmatched by the strength of the [Iraqi forces], he said. “[ISIS] is losing ground, and is failing in every battle. Soon, ISIS will have no sanctuary anywhere in Iraq,” Dillon said.
The coordination among the Iraqi army, the federal police, peshmerga forces, local police, counterterrorism service, and popular and tribal mobilization forces has contributed to the victories seen recently against ISIS, the spokesman said. So far, he added, more than 4 million people have been liberated, and about 15,800 square miles have been cleared.
Raqqa Gains
In Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces continue to eliminate ISIS in the eastern and northeastern regions of that country, Dillon said. In Raqqa, “The SDF have now cleared about 70 percent of the entire city,” he added.
The SDF gained about 84 city blocks in Raqqa from ISIS control in the past week, he said.
“In the past week, the SDF have assisted more than 200 civilians flee the city of Raqqa,” Dillon noted. “The SDF also detained ISIS fighters attempting blend in amongst civilians; one of which was another ISIS emir, or local leader.”
Posted in Security Comments Off on Liberation From ISIS Underway in Iraqi Towns
Rosneft in $1bn Kurdistan Pipeline Deal
Posted on 18 September 2017 .
Russian oil company Rosneft has completed its due diligence on infrastructure of the export oil pipeline in Iraqi Kurdistan (‘KROP”) and will shortly finalise the legally binding documents on oil pipeline project under the Investment Agreement signed at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2017.
The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq and the Company intend further strengthen and develop cooperation and consider to expand Rosneft footprint in the region. The parties have negotiated Rosneft’s opportunity to participate in the project on funding of the construction project of Kurdistan Region’s natural gas pipeline infrastructure. It is expected that a separate agreement under this project will be finalized by year-end.
The Kurdistan Region gas pipeline will not only supply natural gas to the power plants and domestic factories throughout the region, but also enable exporting of substantial fuel volume to Turkey and European market in the coming years. The investment in the project will be on under a BOOT arrangement, to be recovered through tariff charges and an agreed rate of return basis. The pipeline capacity is expected to handle up to 30 BCMA for gas export, in addition to facilitating gas supply to the key domestic users.
Rosneft and Kurdistan Regional Government are negotiating implementation of the project for construction of gas pipeline system on a fast track basis. Commissioning of the pipeline and first domestic supplies are planned for 2019 and export supplies – 2020.
Successful implementation of the project under discussion will enable Rosneft to play a leading role in the building and expanding Kurdistan Region’s gas transport infrastructure and create synergy with existing projects for development of the oil and gas fields of the 5 blocks awarded to the Company in the region.
Sources close to the deal told Reuters that the investments would amount to more than $1 billion.
(Sources: Rosneft, Reuters)
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Sonangol to Transfer Iraqi Oil Fields?
Posted on 11 September 2017 .
By John Lee.
A recent report suggests that, in the uncertainty following the recent Angolan election, the Iraqi assets of the state-owned oil company Sonangol are in play.
Writing in Seeking Alpha, Jay Currie says the the Najmah and Qaiyarah [Qayara] oil fields may be transferred to Russian service company Eurasia Drilling, and questions the involvement of two Jordanian consultants and a Hong Kong-based company called United Energy Group.
The full article can be read here.
(Source: Seeking Alpha)
(Picture: Oil Minister Luaibi with Sonangol's Edson Dos Santos, Baghdad, 30th August 2017)
Posted in Iraq Oil & Gas News Comments Off on Sonangol to Transfer Iraqi Oil Fields?
Moscow, Baghdad discuss Moving Russian Embassy
Posted on 09 September 2017 .
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)
Posted in Construction & Engineering In Iraq, Politics, Security Comments Off on Moscow, Baghdad discuss Moving Russian Embassy
Iraqi Airways to restore Service to Russia
Posted on 04 September 2017 .
By John Lee.
Iraqi Airways plans to re-commence regular flights between Baghdad and Moscow later in September, following a break of 13 years.
The news came following talks between Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia and the Iraqi Ambassador to Russia Haidar Mansour Hadi.
(Source: Rosaviatsia)
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Trial Shipments of LPG from Badra Oilfield
Posted on 30 August 2017 .
By John Lee.
Russia's Gazprom Neft has reportedly started production of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) at its Badra field in Wasit Province.
According to Energy Business Review, the company has started trial shipments of LPG to Iraq’s state-owned gas filling company, and to the Az-Zubaydiyah power station.
The facility is expected to be operation in the fourth quarter of this year.
(Source: Energy Business Review)
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Cherkizovo Group Receives Permission to Export to Iraq
Posted on 29 August 2017 .
By John Lee.
PJSC Cherkizovo Group, the largest vertically integrated meat and feed producer in Russia, today announces that its Vasilyevskaya poultry production facility has received permission to export poultry products to Iraq.
The Vasilyevskaya poultry farm, which is Cherkizovo Group's largest poultry production facility, was granted the right to export to Iraq. The permit was issued by the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture in August 2017.
A key requirement for the export of poultry meat to Iraq is the observance of halal - a set of rules in the Islamic religious tradition that sets strict guidelines for the slaughter of animals.
The slaughter facilities at the Vasilyevskaya poultry farm comply with these rules, according to certification from the Halal International Centre for Standardisation and Certification of the Council of Muftis of Russia. The Group's halal products are produced under the brands "Latifa" and "Dajajti" and are intended both for export as well as for meeting the domestic demand for these products.
The Vasilievskaya poultry farm is located in Bessonovsky district of Penza region. The enterprise was founded in 1978, and in 1998 it joined Cherkizovo Group. Today, it is the largest poultry factory in the Group and one of the highest capacity poultry producing facilities in Russia.
Obtaining the right to export products to Iraq is a significant step in the development of the Group's export potential. Exports increasingly important for the Group in current market conditions. Iraq is one of the largest markets in the Middle East. The requirements for imported poultry meat are very strict. Cherkizovo Group products today meet the most stringent international requirements for biosafety. The Group has already received permits to export to Egypt, the UAE, Tanzania and the EU.
(Source: PJSC Cherkizovo Group)
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