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By John Lee.

Apex Health, a subsidiary of Qatar's Estithmar Holding, has announced that it has obtained an investment licence from Iraq's National Investment Commission (NIC) to develop a 400-bed private hospital in Baghdad's Al-Zaafaraniyah district (formerly Al-Rashid Camp).

The new facility, to be named Baghdad International Hospital, will be built on a 100,000-square-metre riverside site overlooking the Tigris. It will include 400 beds, 16 ICU beds, 12 operating rooms, and 80 outpatient clinics, and is expected to handle more than 600,000 outpatient visits and over 100,000 inpatient admissions annually.

According to a press release from the company, the hospital will provide advanced medical and surgical services, including open-heart, orthopedic oncology, plastic, neurosurgery, pediatric surgery, and transplant programmes (liver, bone marrow, and stem cell). It will also offer dialysis, neonatal care, and a full continuum of inpatient and outpatient services.

Apex Health is already active in Iraq, managing Al Nasiriya Teaching Hospital in Dhi Qar and Al Imam Al Hassan Mujtaba Teaching Hospital in Karbala. CEO Joseph Hazel said the new project demonstrates the company's confidence in the Iraqi market and commitment to supporting healthcare transformation in the country.

Estithmar Holding CEO Juan Leon added that the development aligns with the group's international growth strategy and will deliver added value to shareholders.

(Source: Estithmar Holding)

By John Lee.

As part of its external relations and financial coordination strategy, Iraq's Cabinet has authorised the Minister of Finance, or a delegated representative, to negotiate and sign draft agreements aimed at avoiding double taxation and preventing tax evasion with China, Qatar, and the Czech Republic.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will prepare the required authorisation documents on behalf of the Republic of Iraq and submit them for the Prime Minister's signature.

(Source: PMO)

By John Lee.

The National Investment Commission of Iraq has announced the start of the third round of discussions on the draft Agreement for the Encouragement and Protection of Investments between Iraq and the Czech Republic.

The meetings, held in Prague on 22-23 July, follow the recent visit by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani to the Czech Republic and are part of Iraq's efforts to strengthen economic ties and promote mutual investment. The discussions aim to foster a sustainable economic partnership, facilitate technology transfer, create jobs, and support economic development.

The Iraqi delegation was led by NIC Chairman Dr. Haider Muhammad Makiyya, accompanied by the Iraqi negotiation team. The Czech side was led by Martina Matušová, alongside the Czech negotiation team. Iraq's chargé d'affaires in Prague, Mr. Hussein Al-Safi, and his deputy Mr. Samer Jamal also attended.

In his remarks, Dr. Makiya highlighted legislative and procedural reforms that have transformed Iraq's investment environment in recent years, citing a significant rise in both local and foreign investment activity. He officially opened the round of talks, describing the agreement as a milestone in deepening bilateral economic cooperation.

Over two days, the parties engaged in in-depth discussions and advanced the drafting of key provisions. Further rounds of negotiation are planned, with the final version of the agreement to be submitted for formal approval under Iraqi law.

On the second day, Czech Deputy Finance Minister Tomáš welcomed the progress and expressed optimism for future talks. He praised Iraq's recent reforms and confirmed that the Czech Ministry of Finance, through its representative at the OECD, would support efforts to improve Iraq's international investment rating. Iraq's total investment volume has reportedly reached $99 billion.

Tomáš also acknowledged Iraq's recent investment agreements with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE as encouraging signs of a stable and investor-friendly environment.

(Source: NIC)

By Ahmed Tabaqchali, Chief Strategist of AFC Iraq Fund.

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

"Ten-year Anniversary & a First Visit to Iraq"

The market, as measured by the Rabee Securities U.S. Dollar Equity Index (RSISX USD Index), was down 4.8% for the month and 1.1% for the year, following increases in 44.8% and 97.2% in 2024 and 2023 respectively.

Iraq, then and now

June marks the ten-year anniversary of the AFC Iraq Fund, launched June 26^th, 2015, a year after it was conceived amidst the perfect storm of ISIS's take-over of the city of Mosul, threatening Iraq's breakup, and the crash in oil prices piling on the misery by adding its potential bankruptcy in the process. It seems almost fitting that, yet another perfect storm was marking its ten-year anniversary, in which the Israel-Iran war, brewing for over 18 months, risked igniting a much-feared wider regional war that could have engulfed Iraq. However, unlike then, the storm dissipated in 12 days, or at least for the time being, as both antagonists have sought ways to end it, that seems to have been found through a U.S. mediation made possible by an orchestrated and symbolic attack on an empty U.S. military base and sealed in a theatrical ceasefire announcement.

However, while the risks of the Israel-Iran war erupting once again are real, Iraq and its economy are very different from ten years ago, helping it to weather the war's worst consequences, and to continue with its economic transformation. As discussed here over the last few years, especially in the outlook for 2025 in "What Next After Two Gangbuster Years?" Iraq's economy is undergoing a long-term economic transformation brought on by two key dynamics, which are in the early stages of driving this transformation. The first of which is the cumulative positive effects of the relative stability that the country has enjoyed over the past few years, that provided a stable and predictable macroeconomic framework for businesses to operate in and to plan for capital investments on a scale not seen in the prior decades. While the second is the significant structural fundamental developments accelerating the adoption of banking and bringing about a transformation of the sector and its role in the economy.

Iraq's equity market's performance has mirrored the country's tribulations and its ongoing transformation, in which its pre-ISIS peak in January 2014, was followed by a brutal seven-year bear market with the RSISX USD Index down 25.4% in 2014, 22.7% in 2015, 17.4% in 2016%, 11.8% in 2017, 15.0% in 2018, 1.3% in 2019, and 5.4% in 2020 -for a cumulative decline of 66.6%; followed by a recovery of 21.4% in 2021, a decline of 3.8% in 2022, an increase of 97.2% in 2023, and a further increase of 44.8% in 2024. Underscoring the early stages of the market's recovery, is that the RSISX USD Index only surpassed its 2014 peak over a decade later in October 2024.

Rabee Securities U.S. Dollar Equity Index

(Source: Iraq Stock Exchange, Rabee Securities, AFC Research, monthly data as of June 30^th)

Iraq, as seen through a visitor's eyes

My friend and colleague, Thomas Hugger, CEO of Asia Frontier Capital's (AFC), visited Iraq at the end of May, and with me, embarked on a tour of the country that included business visits to companies such as the Bank of Baghdad (BBOB), and Baghdad Soft Drinks (IBSD), the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX); cultural tours starting with Baghdad's old districts (Mutanabbi Street, Mustansiriyya Madrasa, Al-Shawaka), and its modern districts; the ancient cities of Babylon, Ctesiphon, Ur; the Marshes; the meeting point of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers forming Shatt Al Arab at Al-Qurnah,; and Iraq's third largest city Basra. This month's report will review our visit to the ISX, the Bank of Baghdad, and focus on one of Iraq's best consumer companies, Baghdad Soft Drinks, and its state-of-the-art production plant, the largest of its kind in the Middle East. Other parts of the tour will feature in the upcoming market reports over the next few months.

This was Thomas' first visit to Iraq, 13 years after AFC started investing in the country. Arriving in Baghdad at 00:30 in the early morning, he was greeted by the driver of "Al-Mosafer Taxi", who took him to a hotel in the neighbourhood of Arasat Al Hindia, in Karada. For Thomas, having just concluded an investor tour in Uzbekistan, arriving on Turkish Airlines from Istanbul, the experience was no different than almost any country among AFC's investable universe that he has travelled to, in such a contrast to the usual Iraq travel advice warnings of the dangers, that are still reflecting Iraq's dark days of conflict that ended years ago. Thomas notes: "Airport immigration was relatively quick and simple: Most foreigners can now apply for an E-visa online and just before going to the immigration counter simply pick up their visa after the helpful staff at the E-visa counter take their mugshots. The airport is still tiny for such an economy, and I assume that a new passenger terminal will be added in the future. I was also impressed by the quality of the brand new three-lane highway leading from the airport to the city centre of Baghdad. Despite the late time of 01:30 am, there was still some traffic. Judging from the style of driving, I would not be surprised that a future Formula-1 driver will be coming soon from Iraq! The emotional and visual highlight though was the crossing of the Tigris River which splits Baghdad into its western part, Karkh, and its eastern part, Rusafa."

The next day, we visited the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX), situated in the Alwiya area in Karada, in Rusafa, which fortunately happened to be the last trading day of the month, as it allowed us to watch the market's close on the floor of the exchange, after a meeting with the CEO of the Stock Exchange. With the advent of electronic trading in 2009, most investors migrated from watching and trading at the exchange to brokers' offices. However, old habits die hard, and a number of regulars still come to the exchange's floor to meet, gossip, and trade. We chatted with some of them and joined them like two old timers fixated on the trading screens.

At the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX)

(Source: AFC Research)

May ended on a strong note with heavy activity in some of the leadings stocks such as Asiacell Communications (TASC), Baghdad Soft Drinks (IBSD), Bank of Baghdad (BBOB), Mansour Bank (BMNS), and the National Bank of Iraq (BNOI), in which the five accounted for over 90% of the trading value on the last day of the month -the day ended up among the highest turnover days of the year, at over one and a half times the year to date's average daily trading value. These five companies' market leadership stems from the high quality of their business models, quality of management, and multi-year earnings growth, especially over the last two years, as highlighted last month. All five companies are major constituents of the Rabee Securities U.S. Dollar Equity Index.

Afterwards, we left to visit the Bank of Baghdad, but not before visiting the beautiful Church of Our Lady of Salvation, which is located right across the street from the stock exchange. Our Lady of Salvation is an Assyrian Christian church that survived terrible attacks during Iraq's darkest years of civil war, particularly the attacks in 2004 and 2010. In 2010, there was a twin attack that started at the ISX and was followed by another at the Church with an attack at Sunday Mass. The attackers clearly aimed for maximum damage as Sunday is also the first day of the business week, and so the death toll was 52 worshippers at the church, and four guards at the ISX. In a spirit that is typical of Iraqis, the ISX family went to work the next day as if nothing had happened.

The Church of Our Lady of Salvation

Bank of Baghdad's head office

(Source: AFC Research)

We met Bank of Baghdad's outgoing CEO, who successfully managed the bank's turnaround from mid-2016, and its resumption of growth as highlighted in "Banks and the Predictability of Earnings". After discussing the banking scene in Iraq, he introduced us to the incoming CEO, who shared his strategic plans for the development of the bank in the near future. Afterwards, we had lunch at one of the best grill houses in Iraq, Zarzour on the National Theatre roundabout, and enjoyed a feast of kebab, tikka, liver, hearts and kidneys. Iraqi red meat grills are almost always made of domestic lamb, which are accompanied by high amounts of fat: kebabs have up to 20% of fat content; tikka, liver, hearts and kidneys come with cubes of fat; and for those who want more, restaurants serve skewers of fat cubes as a stand-alone item.  Local sheep breeds are mostly Awassi, followed by Arab and Hamdani sheep, which are broad-tailed breeds with fat tails -they are so prized that successive governments have prohibited their export.

Lunch at Zarour, the National Theatre Roundabout

(Source: AFC Research)

In the evening, we went on a walkabout on one of the liveliest streets in Baghdad, Yarmouk district's "Four Streets", in the Karkh side of Baghdad. Being a Thursday, which is the last of the Iraqi work week, it was full of people, of all walks of life, brimming with energy, movement and whose lively conversations filled the space. Not satisfied with just one grilled meat feast a few hours earlier, we enjoyed another tasty grilled dinner, repeating the same choices, in one of the many restaurants left and right of the buzzing street where entire families walked by or drove in their SUVs, most of which were brand new.

Four Streets, Yarmouk, Karada, Baghdad

(Source: AFC Research)

On Baghdad, Thomas notes: "I noticed that the western part of the city is seeing a lot of construction activity since I assume this part is newer and was therefore less developed a few years ago compared with the eastern part of the city which is very crowded and overbuilt with mostly two to three stories buildings and hosting the older residential and commercial aeras including the historical centre "Olds Rusafa" which is dating back over 1,000 years. I had the feeling that the construction boom and urbanisation of Baghdad were just starting. I was impressed by some huge mixed property developments (residential combined with retail space) -something which could be easily also found in any other place like in the U.A.E., Kuwait, or Qatar. The traffic early in the morning was easy, but later in the day became much more congested, leading to traffic jams into the evening hours (or early morning the next day). It was striking for me that most of the cars seem to be quite new (with the exception of the many yellow taxis) and also that the Dodge "Challenger" is used as a family car in Iraq and seems to be very popular with the local drivers. I was also surprised to learn that the gasoline price in Iraq is about USD 0.65 (850 IQD), which is certainly much cheaper than in Europe, but considerably higher compared with other oil-producing countries."

Construction activity in Baghdad

(Source: AFC Research)

The tour of Iraq's last day ended in Baghdad, with a visit to Baghdad Soft Drinks' (IBSD) head office and its world-class production plant in Al-Za'franiya on the outskirts of Baghdad, which is the largest and best of its kind in the Middle East. IBSD is Iraq's main PepsiCo franchise and has grown organically by expanding the Pepsi Cola line, and strategic acquisitions such as that of the Aquafina (mineral water) licence holder "Ynabee' Al Zawraa Company". As of 2024, IBSD has 15 Pepsi production lines, three Aquafina water production lines, and five juice production lines, with total production growing by about 14% year over year. Complimenting these, were milk products that were introduced in 2024, and a refrigerated hall for milk storage was completed, that while an insignificant part of IBSD's business, nevertheless, Rabee Securities notes that is "... a positive development supporting the expected growth in milk sales" -much like in the rest of the Middle East, fresh milk consumption is on the rise.

IBSD's consistent earnings and revenue growth since 2011, were negatively affected twice in these years. The first business decline was in 2014, following the fall of Mosul and the ensuing conflict, but growth soon resumed in 2015. The second was in 2021-22 when its profit margins took a hit from the significant price rises of commodities, in particular aluminium and sugar, as brought on by the double whammy of the disruptions to supply chains in the wake of the emergence from Covid-19's induced lockdowns, and of the invasion of Ukraine. These higher expenses, while negatively affecting profit margins, were temporary and one-off in nature,  the high year-over-year cost increases moderated significantly and eventually declined; while sales momentum continued to accelerate supported organically by its strong product line-up, as well as by the line-ups from is recent acquisitions -a point made in "Winter Flash Floods" when discussing IBSD, and other top companies following their sharp prices drops in late 2021. The consequences of the cumulative positive effects of the relative stability that the country enjoyed is evident in the acceleration in growth of the last two years. The company's confidence about its future was evident in its latest dividend declaration, at the end of June, in which it increased the cash payout from 0.29 to 0.36 IQD per share, or an increase of 24.2%, resulting in a dividend yield of 7.5%.

IBSD's revenues and earnings margins 2011-2024

(Source: Rabee Securities, company filings, AFC Research, annual data as of 2024)

What is noteworthy, and part of the attractiveness of the Iraq investment story, is that despite the market's strong performance over the last few years, valuation disparities continue to offer investment opportunities.  A case in point is IBSD's valuation disparity with emerging market PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola bottlers (table below) as an example of Iraq's value proposition, and a demonstration of AFC's investment thesis of arbitraging the delta between Iraq's real risk and perceived risk -while a disparity should exist given different market sizes, and other market dynamic differences, yet surely not on such a scale.

Table: Bottler comparisons

(Source: Bloomberg, data as of July 4^th)

On the company, Thomas notes: "We were able to visit the impressive plant factory of Baghdad Soft Drinks in Al-Za'franiya on the outskirts of Baghdad. The plant manager showed us around various buildings where Pepsi, mineral water, and other soft drinks were produced and packaged. The bottling lines did not differ from any soft drink bottling plant in a developed country. Almost all of the machinery was from Germany and hardly any people were doing manual work (except for the forklift drivers moving around the huge piles of bottles or cans) since most of the jobs are computerised or done by robots. Needless to say, the factory was spotlessly clean. We also saw workers from Turkey installing the newest machinery from Germany for the new production lines".

IBSD Production Plant

(Source: AFC Research)

We were taken there by Wassim Al Jzrawy, the CEO of Karmal Brokerage, a colleague and a friend with whom the relationship goes back to 2013, when work first started on the Iraq investment thesis. The visit continued thereafter by touring through Ishtar Sheraton Hotel, sandwiched between the picturesque Tigris River, and "Firdos Square" which became world famous on April 9^th, 2003, when the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue at that time was shown live on CNN. The hotel is currently undergoing a major refurbishment to meet the strong demand for hotel rooms in Baghdad, as the country's stability, subsequent rebuilding and its booming economy are attracting foreigners, particularly regional businesses investors seeking economic opportunities -or "Go East, young person", a modern day version of "Go West, young man" in the U.S. in the 19^th century, that embodied the massive economic opportunities during the westward expansion in the U.S. So much so, that planes arriving today in Baghdad from Amman, Istanbul, Dubai, or Doha, (some of which have multiple daily flights now), are normally full irrespective of the time of arrival. Increasingly, the inflow of tourists, with the potential economic implications to cater for them, is taking place, as will be covered in the travel reports of our tour of historic Iraq.

View from Ishtar Sheraton Hotel

(Source: AFC Research, left Ishtar Sheraton Hotel, top right Rusafa, bottom right Karkh -both as viewed from the roof of Ishtar Sheraton)

Firdos Square, Karada, Baghdad

(Source: AFC Research, as viewed from the roof of Ishtar Sheraton)

Please click here to download Ahmed Tabaqchali's full report in pdf format.

Mr Tabaqchali (@AMTabaqchali) is the Chief Strategist of the AFC Iraq Fund, and is an experienced capital markets professional with over 25 years' experience in US and MENA markets. He is a Visiting Fellow at the LSE Middle East Centre, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Regional and International Studies (IRIS), and a Senior Non-resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council.

His comments, opinions and analyses are personal views and are intended to be for informational purposes and general interest only and should not be construed as individual investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy, sell or hold any fund or security or to adopt any investment strategy. It does not constitute legal or tax or investment advice. The information provided in this material is compiled from sources that are believed to be reliable, but no guarantee is made of its correctness, is rendered as at publication date and may change without notice and it is not intended as a complete analysis of every material fact regarding Iraq, the region, market or investment.

From the Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC):

How Iraq is Modernising and Diversifying its Growing Economy

For the last three years Iraq has enjoyed relative stability, good oil prices and a growing economy. For those who invested in the Iraqi stock market, returns of over 100% are common and GDP in 2025 is estimated to be up to 5%.

Oil and Gas sales has driven this expansion, but other factors such as sovereign wealth funds are now encouraged by the GOI's stability to invest, such as the Saudis with their Public investment fund, the Qataris ( both government and private sector, and the Gulf states, have driven around $3.5bn investment into infrastructure, housing and the development road initiative, in addition to Iraqis investing in consumer real estate such as cafes and housing  all feeding off economic and political confidence. The government has also pledged up to $400bn of investment into development, infrastructure and the Al Fawr port complex and the new $15bn trade deal with UK for cyber, telco and defence support.

At IBBCs Baghdad conference in February, over 350 business delegates flocked to hear the leading minsters or oil, communications, foreign affairs and key advisors to the Prime Minister, expand on opportunities in Iraq, where the atmosphere was palpably enthusiastic to participate in the new Iraq economy.

Beyond Infrastructure we also see expansion in Schooling and Universities, in more diverse services such as travel, tech and professional services like law and banking. Collaboration with international companies and countries is key to Iraq's evolution, as new skills and technologies are coming into the country, driven by international confidence in Iraq. Iraq needs a more skilled workforce to enable engineering and business expansion, and companies like Unihouse and Mselect are supporting these skills.

Indeed, IBBCs membership mix reflects this diversification, modernisation and internationalisation of the economy: private schools, training and skills companies, tech and media companies, high end added value design, and the establishment of Agritech and marine sector companies bringing expertise into the country like DPD, AL Zaman Group(Marine Shipbuilding company Uk Ltd ) Gold Sponsors, and CJ-ICM.

At our Spring Conference at the Mansion House on June 3rd we will showcase the leaders in these new sectors and explain why they are now investing and establishing in Iraq. You will also meet the best of British expertise, through the sagacity of Lord Howell on energy, Lord Green on banking, Professor Frank Gunter with his report on Iraq Entrepreneurs, and from Iraq the minister of Transport, who will outline the significant infrastructure opportunities, as well as other Iraqi officials soon to be confirmed. Underpinning UK investment the UKEF CEO, Tim Reid, will present how companies can access the £billions in UK trade guarantees, Jon Wilks CMG ( former Ambassador) will articulate his much anticipated geo political insights and dynamics especially with an election looming and developments in Syria, Iran and the Middle East, The IFC on investment initiatives led by Hogan Lovells (Gold sponsor) and with TBI (Gold Sponsor), and key IBBC companies in energy, finance , maritime, agritech, tech and education will be evident on stage. For those wanting more interactive discussion there are roundtables on Entrepreneurship, Growth, Transport (with Sardar, Gold Sponsors), Education and a special Tourism and heritage panel and exhibition. On 2nd June will be a special networking reception at the Mansion house for delegates, and the Tech forum online - covering how AI and Tech support the services sector- including its use in education, investment and Pharma.

To view the latest speaker, line up and to register, please go to this link on IBBCs website.

While the worlds stock markets are in turmoil, for once, Iraq presents a beacon of economic and social stability as it takes the long march towards modernity and diversification of its economy. Come and hear how this is happening and meet the people who are making it happen. Register here for the IBBC Mansion House conference.

Gold sponsors include: Trade bank of Iraq, Sardar Group and Al Zaman Group (Marine Shipbuilding company Uk Ltd), Hogan Lovells International LLP

By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Rebalancing IOCs Positioning in the Upstream Petroleum Sector in Iraq

The Ministry of Oil (MoO) recently concluded an agreement with BP covering four main oilfields in Kirkuk, following an earlier contract with an unidentified Ukrainian company to resume development of the Akkas gas field.

Approximately a year prior, MoO finalised and executed an agreement with TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy encompassing four different projects. These three agreements could, if implemented, reverse the exodus of International Oil Companies (IOCs) and rebalance their positioning in Iraq's upstream petroleum sector. The lack of transparency surrounding these deals makes it difficult to assess how well they serve Iraq's interests. However, available information suggests the agreements, particularly with BP and TotalEnergies, strongly favor these IOCs from a comparative perspective.

IOCs include well-known majors, medium-sized enterprises, and smaller companies, broadly categorised as Western IOCs (WIOCs) and non-Western IOCs (NWIOCs). Their positioning in Iraq's upstream petroleum sector over the past twenty years has evolved through three distinct yet overlapping phases.

1. The initial phase, coinciding with the aftermath of the 2003 Anglo-American invasion and occupation, was characterised by clear WIOC dominance.
2. This dominance gradually and dramatically weakened during the second phase, culminating in an exodus of several major WIOCs, which created opportunities for NWIOCs to enter the market and, for larger companies among them, to consolidate their strategic positions.
3. The third phase has witnessed new agreements with select WIOCs, two of which could significantly rebalance their own positions and, consequently, overall WIOC positioning in Iraq's upstream petroleum sector.

While IOC positioning carries geopolitical and strategic implications from both corporate and national perspectives, this article focuses primarily on the corporate viewpoint. The contractual frameworks, governance modalities, processes, and stakeholder relationships differ across these three phases.

After reviewing and analysing these phases, this article provides a comparative assessment of the latest two agreements-the TotalEnergies and BP-Kirkuk deals.

Click here to read the full article.

Mr Jiyad is an independent development consultant, scholar and Associate with the former Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES), London. He was formerly a senior economist with the Iraq National Oil Company and Iraq's Ministry of Oil, Chief Expert for the Council of Ministers, Director at the Ministry of Trade, and International Specialist with UN organizations in Uganda, Sudan and Jordan. He is now based in Norway (Email: mou-jiya(at)online.no, Skype ID: Ahmed Mousa Jiyad). Read more of Mr Jiyad's biography here.

By John Lee.

Iraq's Ministry of Communications has signed an agreement with Qatar's Ooredoo Group for the deployment of the country's fourth submarine cable (FIG) at the Al-Faw landing station.

Minister Dr. Hayam Al-Yasiri emphasized the strategic importance of the 24-pair fiber-optic cable, which has a capacity of over 700 terabits and connects seven Gulf countries across a 2,000 km route.

She also announced that additional approvals have been granted to global telecom companies to lay new submarine cables and develop transit projects. Iraq's existing and planned networks, including the Route of Civilizations and the strategic Development Road transit network, will enhance its role as a key regional communications hub.

Dr. Al-Yasiri highlighted Iraq's competitive advantages, including shorter transit routes and simplified maintenance, positioning the country as a secure and attractive corridor for international telecom traffic between Europe and Asia via Al-Faw and Turkey.

She noted that Iraq's international bandwidth has surged from 10 Gbps to 1,800 Gbps, reflecting growing investor confidence and increased foreign interest in Iraq's telecom sector.

(Source: Ministry of Communications)

By John Lee.

Qatar-based Ooredoo Group has partnered with France's Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) to build the Fibre in Gulf (FIG) submarine cable.

The cable, connecting Qatar, Oman, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq, will have a capacity of up to 720Tbps with 24 fibre pairs.

Ooredoo said in a statement that the project will provide all GCC countries a low latency, shorter and secure route to a new corridor connecting Europe.

Ooredoo is the parent company of Iraqi mobile phone company Asiacell.

(Source: Ooredoo)

By John Lee.

On Friday, TotalEnergies (45%, operator) and its partners Basra Oil Company (BOC) (30%) and QatarEnergy (25%) launched today the construction works of ArtawiGas25, a first processing facility for the associated gas from the Ratawi [Artawi] field, in the Basra region.

This facility, which is part of the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), represents an investment of around USD 250 million and will process 50 million cubic feet per day (Mcf/d) of gas previously flared. The gas will supply local power plants, covering the demand of approximately 200,000 households in the Basra region.

Signed in September 2021, the GGIP project is a $10-billion multi-energy project designed to enhance the development of Iraq's natural resources and improve the country's electricity supply. The GGIP includes a large-scale gas processing plant, with a first phase of 300 Mcf/d that will recover gas being flared on three oil fields and supply gas to 1.5 GW of power generation capacity.

According to a statement from TotalEnergies, in anticipation of the start-up of this main gas processing facility, the ArtawiGas25 project will significantly reduce gas flaring at the Ratawi field as early as end 2025. "The innovative modular design of ArtawiGas25 could also pave the way for potential replication across other Iraqi oil fields. ArtawiGas25 will create up to 160 direct and indirect jobs for Iraqi nationals during construction phase and 30 jobs during operation phase."

Julien Pouget, Senior Vice President Middle East & North Africa, Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies, said:

"We are very pleased to launch the ArtawiGas25 project: it will give the Iragi people a tangible insight into the benefits of the GGIP, which will provide more energy with less emissions. Through this project, TotalEnergies is demonstrating its capacity to deliver valuable and fast-track solutions in accordance with the government's expectations and the country's electricity needs. We look forward to the next GGIP milestones in the coming weeks with the start of construction of the 1 GW solar project."

(Sources: TotalEnergies, Ministry of Oil)

By John Lee.

On Tuesday (7th January), iQ Networks, a subsidiary of Sulaymaniya's iQ Group, signed Iraq's inaugural dark fibre IRU framework agreement with Qatar-based Gulf Bridge International (GBI) in Baghdad.

According to a statement from iQ, this landmark deal is a pivotal move towards establishing Iraq as an essential telecommunications hub.

The event also celebrated surpassing over 1 terabyte of capacity on the Silk Route Transit. Numerous companies, including GBI, are already utilizing capacity on this route, while others are in active testing phase.

Asoz Rashid, CEO of iQ Group, said:

"The fact that we've surpassed 1 terabyte of active capacity is more than a technical milestone; it's a clear indication of Iraq's evolving role in the global digital economy. The Silk Route Transit is the first step towards reshaping Iraq's economy away from natural resources, laying the groundwork for a future defined by data and technology."

Waseem Amjad, CEO of iQ Networks, highlighted the broader impact of this achievement:

"Reaching 1 terabyte of capacity is transformative for iQ. One key feature is its integration with global OTT peering, which enhances how efficiently content is delivered across the internet. By building strong peering relationships with global OTT providers, we're reducing latency and improving user experience, allowing AI to develop, regional financial institutions to process faster, and so much more. In short, this will impact everyone."

H.E. Eng. Essa Bin Hilal Al-Kuwari, Chairman of GBI, expressed his enthusiasm for the agreement:

"This partnership underscores GBI's commitment to advancing regional connectivity and digital transformation. By joining forces with iQ Networks, we are not only enabling Iraq to become a strategic hub for data transit but also fostering innovation and creating a robust digital ecosystem that benefits businesses and communities alike."

(Source: iQ Group)