Custom Search

By Wassim Bassem for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. 

On Nov. 3, NASA published clear images taken by its satellites of the severe dust storm that hit Iraq recently. The climate changes sweeping Iraq are causing human casualties and economic damages. Hundreds of cases of suffocation were recorded.

The Ministry of Health announced Oct. 30 that there were more than 4,200 cases of suffocation in most governorates, including 528 in Karbala. During the dust storm, the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority canceled its flights, and Iranian flights to Baghdad and Najaf airports were also canceled. Ninevah province recorded 1,108 cases of suffocation in the camps for internally displaced persons.

The storms also affected the course of the battles between the Iraqi forces and the Islamic State (IS). On Oct. 31, the Iraqi forces were forced to postpone the campaign aimed to retrieve the city of Qaim, west of Anbar, from IS because of the lack of visibility caused by the dust storms.

While dust storms are occurring in neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and even Iran, "Iraq is one of the most affected countries by the storm, at the level of its environment, individuals’ health and economy," said Amer Habib of the Technical College Musayyib in Babil province and the director of a project on organic fertilizers in Babil.

"This is due to the fact that Iraq is a barren land where vegetation is scarce. Human activities have swept away orchards and agricultural lands, which also led to the decrease of the rivers’ water levels and the lack of rainfall, which resulted in the drying up of huge areas of agricultural spaces."

In 2011, the World Meteorological Organization identified dust storms as a natural disaster. Several countries around the world have strengthened their defense strategies against this environmental threat with green belts of trees that are resistant to drought and harsh environments. The stakeholders, especially local governments in Iraq, have been following the same approach for years and have developed projects to help eliminate desertification.

By John Lee.

Saudi Arabia has appointed Abdulaziz Al-Shammari as its new ambassador to Iraq.

Al-Shammari, who has been Charge d'Affaires of the Saudi embassy in Iraq since October 2016, was sworn in on Sunday before King Salman in Riyadh.

Relations between the two countries have been improving recently, with high-level visits, the opening of the border crossing, and new air routes.

(Source: Rudaw)

By Mustafa Saadoun for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. 

Iraqi-Saudi relations have witnessed significant improvement after years of boycott that had worsened during Nouri al-Maliki’s rule between 2006 and 2014. On Oct. 22, the establishment of a Coordination Council between the two countries was announced.

Iran, which is seeking to expand its influence in Iraq, might not like this rapprochement, especially following the latest meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud that took place with US blessing when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson attended the launching of the Coordination Council.

Former Iraqi Ambassador to the US Lukman Faily told Al-Monitor, “Over the past years, the US attempted to take serious steps to mend ties between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. With this development, the region’s geopolitics will change.”

Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported that the Iraqi-Saudi rapprochement will “curb the appetite of the parties that cause stability,” in a clear reference to Iran, which Saudi Arabia always accuses of “destabilizing the situation in the region.”

The results of the US-brokered Iraqi-Saudi rapprochement started appearing when Tillerson asked Iranian militias to leave Iraq, saying that the Iraqi-Saudi rapprochement will "counter some of the unproductive influences of Iran inside of Iraq.”

Hashem al-Haboubi, the deputy secretary general of the Iraqi National Accord movement spearheaded by Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi, told Asharq al-Awsat that the Iraqi-Saudi rapprochement might help Iraq break free from Iranian control.

The Iraqi-Saudi rapprochement does not include the Iraqi state in its explicit form only, but also expands to political parties that are at odds with Iran such as the Sadrist movement led by Muqtada al-Sadr, who visited Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates two months ago and headed to Jordan recently to visit King Abdullah.

By John Lee.

Saudi Arabia and Iraq are to discuss the opening a border crossing between the countries for the first time in 27 years.

On Tuesday, the Saudi Council of Ministers authorised the minister of finance to work with Iraq to draft an agreement on the re-opening of the Arar border post, which has been closed since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, apart from its use for the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.

In a further sign of increasing cooperation between the neighbouring countries, state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) has just resumed flights to Iraq after 27 years, following a similar announcement recently from Saudi budget airline Flynas.

(Source: Gulf Business, Saudi Gazette)

(Picture: King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Dr. Haider Al-Abadi, 22nd October 2017)

Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA), the national carrier of Saudi Arabia, began operating nonstop flights between the airline’s hub in Jeddah and the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad on Monday.

The route will commence as a daily service until November 15, with double-daily frequency thereafter.

A single-class Airbus A330 will be deployed on the route, featuring 300 Guest Class (Economy) seats.

Linking the port city of Jeddah and Baghdad will provide a new air bridge and flexible connectivity for new business ties and growing economic development between the two nations.

The convenient schedule times departing at 12:35hrs from Jeddah, arriving into Baghdad at 15:00 hrs.

The second daily flight commencing November 16, will have a departure time from Jeddah at 03:50 hrs arriving at 06:15 hrs.

The total flying time between Jeddah and Baghdad is 2 hours 25 minutes (2 hours 50 minutes from Baghdad to Jeddah).

The route resumes after a 27 year interruption dating to 1990.

(Source: Saudia)

By Ahmed Tabaqchali (pictured), CIO of Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) Iraq Fund.

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

October was mostly a replay of the dog days of the summer as far as the market was concerned.

However, two developments are worth noting:

• the changed dynamics of oil prices with significant implications for local liquidity; and,
• emerging details of the Saudi led refinancing of the reconstruction of liberated territories.

Please click here to download Ahmed Tabaqchali’s full report.

Mr Tabaqchali is the CIO of the AFC Iraq Fund, and is an experienced capital markets professional with over 25 years’ experience in US and MENA markets.

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.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is scheduled to pay an official visit to Iran on Wednesday as part of a regional tour.

Leading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, the Iraqi primer will arrive in the Iranian capital on Wednesday.

During his stay, he is planned to meet with Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Arriving from Egypt, Abadi met Jordanian King Abdullah II during his several-hour visit to Amman late Sunday.

Abadi began his regional tour, which will later take him to Kuwait, with a visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)

By John Lee.

Saudi Arabian budget airline Flynas is reported to be planning to start services to several Iraqi cities in the coming weeks.

If the plan goes ahead, it would be the first service between the two countries since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990.

(Source: Middle East Eye)