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The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) took a significant group of members on a trade mission to KRI this week. Paramount was the need to review business opportunities and investment in the region and to learn directly from the Prime Minister Barzani his plans for business and industry.

The group, led by Baroness Nicholson, UK Trade Envoy to Iraq, Christophe Michels MD of IBBC and Eng Rasmi Al Jabri, Deputy Chairman of IBBC included representatives from Jaguar LandRover, Crescent Petroleum, EY, Siemens, Sardar Trading Agency, Garda World, Stirling Education, KPMG, G4S, OilServ Kuwait, and from the DIT Mr Rawand Askary, and James Thornton of UK FCO.

The Prime Minister introduced a number of Ministers for discussion with the group, including KRI Minister of Electricity Mr Kamal Mohammad Saleh discussing project finance and other related matters. The DG of the KRIs MoI joint crisis coordination centre Mr Hoshang Mohamed discussed the clearance of IEDs & mines and the handling of the overall IDP and refugee crisis (that G4S have been heavily engaged with).

In conversation, Mr Barzani stated that ‘the KRI government will bring in reforms to cut down on red tape for the private sector to develop. It will pursue a policy of registering companies through a 'one window' online portal which should allow company registrations to be done in the same time it takes in western countries to do so. He also said that the new administration is streamlining overall bureaucracy for private businesses to limit unnecessary Government interference.

The Government is also planning to draft a new bribery law to fight corruption and is looking at reviewing its financial framework to encourage PPPs throughout the economy including education and health. Diversification of the economy is big on the agenda with agriculture, tourism and the manufacturing of goods being a priority. KRI should import less and produce more and eventually find markets outside its borders for its products. Foreign partners for all of this are sought after.’

A permanent revenue sharing agreement with Baghdad is top of the agenda among other things to allow credit export agencies to work directly in the KRIG.’

On Sunday the Planning Minister and Mr Amanj Raheem, Cabinet Secretary, Kurdistan Regional Government spoke, and the Ministers for Construction and Electricity attended the British Consulate Reception taking place at the JLR show room kindly sponsored by Sadar Trading Agencies – thanks to Mr Sardar Al-Bebany Chairman and CEO. Dr Dara Al Khayat, Chairman of KRI federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Erbil, hosted a Monday evening event and on Tuesday the mission visited Crescent Petroleum offices.

The trip continued to Baghdad

(Source: IBBC)

From Peace to prosperity:

The Conference to find out what’s happening for Iraq business.

The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) Autumn Conference in Dubai on December 8^th is set against a backdrop of relative peace and security in Iraq, and the prospect of oil revenues surging through the economy is driving a wider range of business opportunities and a prospective 8% increase in GDP.

Peace is enabling the economy to diversify through the revenues that pay for a range of infrastructure projects. So this Autumn we are focusing on a range of sectors set to benefit from a stable Iraq: namely, Water, Transport and Logistics, Energy and Tech.

The recent protests have also spurred on Government reforms and incentives to drive employment, entrepreneurship and service diversity, and increase the volume of opportunity that lies ahead and the prospects for not just business-to-business but also a burgeoning consumer market.

The Iraqi Electricity Minister will likely be speaking about his reforms to open up the market to SME’s, training and new players. Other ministers including those from Construction and Transport are attending.

The recent announcement of a 10year tax-free period for SMEs in Iraq will also stimulate the Tech entrepreneur market and drive the uptake of engineering skills.

At this conference, we will discuss big-picture economics with Professor Frank Gunter (Lehigh University), Ahmed Tabaqchali (AFC Iraq Fund), and Simon Penny (UK Trade & Investment), who will address the economic backdrop in the Middle East, and the context for Iraq in particular.

The World Bank and Wood Plc will cover the water sector, while Rolls Royce, Basra Gateway Terminal (BGT), and Menzies will look at transport and logistics, and Iraq’s Electricity Minister, GE, Siemens and Enka will focus on energy.

Alongside the conference our Tech Forum brings experts on HealthTech and Educational Tech, including speakers from GE, Siemens Healthcare, KPMG, EY, Google and the British Council, among others.

While key opportunities will be outlined, the real opportunity for business is to meet the people directly involved in contracts and supply-chain opportunities. This is the place to do business, to network and to find out what’s happening in the Middle East’s most potentially dynamic market that is Iraq.

For further information and to find the latest updates on speakers – more are expected – please contact  [email protected] or visit the website to register for tickets.

https://iraqbritainbusiness.org/event/autumn-conference-at-the-address-hotel-dubai

The year it’s all on the up…

Power Grids of Iran, Syria to Be Connected via Iraq: Minister

Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said his ministry plans to connect the country’s national grid to Syria through Iraq as Tehran and Damascus signed a preliminary agreement in this regard.

Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Iranian Energy Ministry and the Syrian Electricity Ministry in Tehran on Saturday, Ardakanian pointed to the synchronization of the power grids of Iran and Iraq on Friday and said, “We intend to use the existing infrastructure to connect the Iranian and Syrian power grids via Iraq.”

The Iranian minister added that in the near future, the electricity transmission between Iran and Syria would become possible via Iraq.

“We plan to create the necessary infrastructure for the implementation of this program within the next three years so that we witness the synchronization of the power grids of Iran and Syria,” he added.

The power grids of Iran and Iraq were synchronized in a ceremony held on Friday attended by Ardakanian and the Iraqi deputy minister of electricity.

Earlier this year, the two countries had reached an agreement to connect their power grids by the end of 2019.

Speaking to Tasnim, Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Homayoun Ha’eri said with the synchronization of the national grids, the two countries would witness the increase of electricity exchanges.

According to Ardakanian, Iran’s exports of electricity to neighboring states, particularly to Iraq, reached a record high last year.

Ardakanian and his Iraqi counterpart Luay al-Khatteeb signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and a contract in February to boost cooperation between the two countries in the electricity industry.

On October 16, a US State Department spokesman said Washington has once again exempted Iraq from its sanctions against Iran, allowing the Arab country to continue gas and electricity imports from the Islamic Republic for another four-month period.

Power cuts in Iraq have often prompted protests against the authorities. Iran supplies enough gas to power 2,500 megawatts (MW), as well as providing Iraq with 1,200 MW in direct power supplies, according to media reports.

(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)

Iran connected its national grid to Iraq on Friday in a bid to help the Arab country reduce its power outages.

The power grids of Iran and Iraq were synchronized in a ceremony held on Friday with Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian and the Iraqi deputy minister of electricity.

Earlier this year, the two countries had reached an agreement to connect their power grids by the end of 2019.

Speaking to Tasnim, Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Homayoun Ha’eri said with the synchronization of the national grids, the two countries would witness the increase of electricity exchanges.

According to Ardakanian, Iran’s exports of electricity to neighboring states, particularly to Iraq, reached a record high last year.

Ardakanian and his Iraqi counterpart Luay al-Khatteeb signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and a contract in February to boost cooperation between the two countries in the electricity industry.

On October 16, a US State Department spokesman said Washington has once again exempted Iraq from its sanctions against Iran, allowing the Arab country to continue gas and electricity imports from the Islamic Republic for another four-month period.

Power cuts in Iraq have often prompted protests against the authorities. Iran supplies enough gas to power 2,500 megawatts (MW), as well as providing Iraq with 1,200 MW in direct power supplies, according to media reports.

(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said that the continuation of the European Union's implementation of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Iraq in the light of the security services' continued use of lethal force against the escalating protests does not serve the goals and values of promoting human rights principles and spreading democracy in the war-torn country.

The Euro-Med had made a series of contacts and sent urgent letters to members of the European Parliament, including the European Parliamentary Relations Committee, and the Subcommittee on Human Rights in the Parliament to inform them of the suppression of demonstrations in the country, calling on the EU to suspend its partnership agreement with Iraq.

The Euro-Med questioned the feasibility of continuing the implementation of the agreement with the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, which continues to launch systematic and bloody campaigns against popular protests calling for overthrowing the government for failing to address corruption and addressing electricity cuts and unemployment.

The European Commission announced earlier that the agreement focuses on common interests of the EU and Iraq such as democracy and human rights, economic, migration, security, energy, environmental affairs.

Since the start of the second wave of anti-government protests last Friday, at least 74 Iraqis have been killed and hundreds of others have been injured, raising the total death toll in October to 231.

The Euro-Med warned of the danger of targeting thousands of Iraqi protesters in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad for the fourth day in a row by the security services pointing out that the security solution will not contribute to putting down the protests, but it would only increase tension.

Despite the Iraqi Interior Ministry's announcement that its forces had faced protests with gas and rubber bullets, the protesters affirmed snipers fired live bullets to disperse the protests.

The Euro-Med documented that on the fifth of October snipers targeted protesters and caused deaths, while others were seriously injured in three locations in Baghdad and in the southern Iraqi governorates during the first wave of protests, which lasted for eight days.

The use of lethal force against protesters and the arrest of hundreds of them violates the international and Iraqi laws. The UN Code of Conduct stipulates that law enforcement officials exercising powers should protect all people from harm.

The Code of Conduct stipulates that the officials should respect and protect human dignity and preserve the human rights of all persons during the performance of their duties.

The Euro-Med stressed the need for the Iraqi government to enable citizens, media and political activists to bear their responsibilities so that people could express their opinions freely by giving them enough space to publish and share news and updates, without restriction or prosecution.

The Euro-Med called on the Iraqi government to immediately release all citizens and activists who were arrested over participating in the protests, stressing that their continued detention constitutes a serious and a clear violation of international laws and conventions, which guarantee the right to freedom of opinion, expression, and peaceful assembly.

“The failure of the Ministry of Health, hospitals and health departments in Baghdad and a number of Iraqi provinces to issue official statistics of the number of deaths and injuries is a violation of the Iraqi Human Rights Commission Law No. 53 of 2008," Omar Abdullah, a researcher at Euro-Med said.

Abdullah added that the Iraqi authorities should adhere to the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, which provide for the use of non-violent means by security forces as far as possible before resorting to force.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called on the Iraqi authorities to initiate an immediate and impartial investigation into the use of lethal force in dispersing the protesters, and to investigate allegations that security forces did not allow medical staff to provide services to the injured, and to ensure that all the wounded receive immediate care without obstacles.

The Euro-Med urged the EU to suspend the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement until Adel Abdul Mahdi's government brings members of the Iraqi security forces, including commanders responsible for the use of excessive lethal force to court, and to stop using any form of violence against demonstrators. The Euro-Med called on the Iraqi authorities to take concrete actions to affirm its commitment to freedom of opinion and peaceful assembly in the country.

(Source: Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor)

By John Lee.

The United Nations has advertised new positions in Iraqi Kurdistan:

• MEAL Coordinator, Première Urgence Internationale (PUI)
• Human Resources Officer, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
• Electricity Management Consultant, Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI)
• Security Assistant, WFP - World Food Programme
• Travel Protocol Assistant, WHO - World Health Organization
• Team Leader- Livelihoods, Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

(Source: UN)

(Picture: Success, growth, career, development signpost from 3D_Creation/Shutterstock)

By John Lee.

The Iraqi Government has announced new measures intended to stimulate job creation in the electricity distribution industry.

In a statement, it said:

"Training courses lasting for 3 months or longer in the area of  maintenance of electrical transformers used in the electricity distribution sector in Iraq. The courses will be tailor-made for unemployed young people who do not have a university degree, but  who have completed their intermediate, secondary or technical education.

"Trainees will be paid a monthly allowance of 150,000 Iraqi dinars during the training course.

"Trainees who successfully complete the training course will be paid a monthly allowance of 250,000 Iraqi dinars for six months to help them develop further their skills.

 "Groups of trainees consisting of three people or more who wish to establish their own industrial workshops will be granted a loan. –

 "The Ministry of Electricity will contract these workshops as needed."

The move is the latest in a series of reforms announced by the government in response to continuing protests in the country.

(Source: Govt of Iraq)

Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian (pictured) has said the export of electricity to neighboring countries has reached a record high in the past year.

Addressing a Sunday session of Tehran’s City Council, Ardakanian said management of the situation over the past two water years has helped the country break the record in three sectors of the power industry.

The minister said the records in electricity generation, power consumption and exports have been broken since 2017-2018 water year.

According to Ardakanian, Iran’s export of electricity to neighboring states, particularly to Iraq, reached a record high last year.

Ardakanian and his Iraqi counterpart Luay al-Khatteeb signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and a contract in February to boost cooperation between the two countries in the electricity industry.

On Wednesday, a US State Department spokesman said Washington has once again exempted Iraq from its sanctions against Iran, allowing the Arab country to continue gas and electricity imports from the Islamic Republic for another four-month period.

(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)

By John Lee.

To improve living conditions for returnee populations living in newly liberated areas, UNOPS – with funding from the government of Japan – is helping to provide renewable energy and emergency waste disposal services in three Iraqi governorates.

“[This project] comes at a time when Iraq is counting on its friends to recover after its battle against ISIS and after the liberation of Iraqi territories,” said Mr. Istabraq Al shook, Deputy Minister of Iraq’s Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works at a recent handover ceremony.

“The UN and the people of Japan and its government showed a solid commitment to stand by Iraq during critical hard times and after the crisis. Today's closing ceremony is a testimony of this commitment,” he added.

With a $3.1 million donation from the government of Japan, UNOPS procured solid waste machinery and provided specialized training to local authorities on modern waste disposal systems, better utilization of debris, and waste sorting and recycling.

UNOPS further installed solar systems – to help alleviate frequent electricity shortages – as well as street lights and water heaters in six health facilities in the governorates of Anbar, Diyala and Ninewa.

“I hope that this project helps to urgently restore basic services needed for daily lives, such as energy and waste disposal, and that the people in those liberated areas can restore and lead a stable life as quickly as possible,” said Mr. Naofumi Hashimoto, Ambassador of Japan to Iraq.

“UNOPS remains committed to supporting the government and the people of Iraq in addressing significant challenges the country is facing, and remains grateful to the people and government of Japan for their continued support to the people of Iraq,” said UNOPS Programme Advisor Ms. Huda Al-Ani.

Mr. Ahmed Shalash, Deputy Director General of Engineering Affairs at the Ministry of Health and Environment, and Mr. Abdul Qadir Al Dhakheel, General Director of Ninewa Municipality attended the handover ceremony held in Baghdad.

(Source: UNOPS)

The Iraqi cabinet has sacked 61 officials over recent protests that killed more than 100 people and injured thousands earlier this month, Anadolu reports.

Leaked documents obtained by Anadolu Agency showed that the decision was taken during a cabinet meeting on Oct. 14.

Protests rocked the capital Baghdad and southern provinces earlier this month against high unemployment and government corruption.

An Iraqi court on Wednesday issued arrest warrants for two police officers in connection with the death of protesters during the demonstrations.

Iraq ranks 18 on Transparency International’s corruption scale, which goes from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

Discontent has been growing in Iraq in recent years due to rising unemployment and rampant corruption. Many in the country have limited access to basic services such as electricity and clean water, and unemployment is around 10%.

(Source: Middle East Monitor)