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By John Lee.

Iraq's Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, met with a delegation from Russian oil company Lukoil to review ongoing cooperation and projects in Iraq.

The discussions focused on the company's operations in the West Qurna-2 and Eridu [Block 10] oil fields and the progress made in these developments.

Al-Sudani emphasized the government's priority on advancing Iraq's oil industry and enhancing production capacity. He highlighted the importance of expanding into oil derivatives and petrochemical production, leveraging Iraq's strong oil extraction infrastructure to boost national revenue.

(Source: PMO)

By John Lee.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Russia has invested over $19 billion in the Iraqi energy sector.

"LUKOIL, Gazprom Neft and Rosneft account for the bulk of this investment," he added.

The Minister made the comments at the opening ceremony of an exhibition marking the 80th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with Iraq.

Full statement from Russian Foreign Ministry:

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks at the opening ceremony of an exhibition marking the 80th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with the Republic of Iraq, Moscow, September 11, 2024

I am delighted to welcome you at the opening ceremony of an exhibition marking the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Iraq.

I would like to thank the management and employees of the Department of History and Records for their painstaking and high-quality work to organise the event.

The exhibition features materials from the Foreign Policy Archive of the Russian Federation on the history of our multilateral collaboration, from the first telegrams on establishing diplomatic relations to photo reports covering recent talks and meetings.

Diplomatic ties were established on September 9, 1944. At that time, the Soviet leadership was already seriously thinking about the need to launch close cooperation with the Arab world. Since then, over the past 80 years, our countries consistently expanded and strengthened bilateral collaboration across the board.

Our cooperation thrived in the 1970s and the 1980s. In April 1972, the Soviet Union signed the Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation with the Republic of Iraq. Industrial enterprises, railways, power plants and other elements of the production and social infrastructure were built in the Republic of Iraq with the assistance of our specialists, and they served as the pillar of the national economy. Moscow ranked among Baghdad's leading trade partners. Soviet universities trained highly skilled specialists for the Iraqi economy.

When the Republic of Iraq faced one of the most horrendous contemporary challenges, specifically, international terrorism in the form of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, Russia was among the first countries to give a helping hand to our friends. To repel terrorist attacks, we quickly started delivering modern Russian weapons and military equipment to Iraq. Today, we continue to assist Iraq in strengthening its law enforcement agencies.

We maintain trust-based political dialogue at the high and top levels. In October 2023, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani paid an official visit to Russia. It is gratifying that the Republic of Iraq remains one of Russia's leading trade and economic partners in the Arab world.

The oil and gas sector traditionally remains the central element of our cooperation. We successfully implement a number of major projects involving leading Russian oil companies. Russia has invested over $19 billion in the Iraqi energy sector. LUKOIL, Gazprom Neft and Rosneft account for the bulk of this investment,

Cultural, humanitarian, science and educational ties continue to develop intensively. We are maintaining our good tradition. Thousands of Iraqi citizens study at Russian universities. As a positive example, I would like to note the established practice of organising professional upgrade courses for employees of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry at the Diplomatic Academy of the Foreign Ministry. The academy has already trained over 450 Iraqi diplomats.

On the whole, our bilateral relations have an impressive potential for advancing our collaboration still further. In this connection, we highly value the effective work of the Russian-Iraqi Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

I would like to express confidence that relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Iraq will continue to develop steadily in the spirit of lasting friendship between our nations.

I hope that you enjoy the exhibition.

(Source: Russian Foreign Ministry)

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

Iraq Proposed Oil Overproduction Compensation, Raises Questions Await Answers

OPEC Secretariat statement No. 9/2024, dated 24th July 2024, confirms receipt of plans to compensate for "Cumulative overproduction Jan. 2024 to June 2024 (tb/d)" from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Russia.

For Iraq, overproduction during this period amounts to 1,184 thousand barrels per day (tbd). Iraq has submitted to the OPEC Secretariat a pledge and a plan to compensate for this overproduction starting July 2024 until the end of September 2025, with monthly reductions in oil production ranging between 70 tbd and 90 tbd.

This matter has raised and continues to raise many questions that I am attempting to summarize and address in this intervention. I believe the Ministry of Oil (MoO) should respond with complete clarity, transparency, and objectivity.

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.

Russian and Iraqi officials have held a meeting to finalize agreements aimed at enhancing transport cooperation between the two nations.

The Russian side expressed gratitude for the approval of the draft agreement by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Office, indicating Russia's readiness to review and proceed with the signing. They emphasized Iraq's strategic geographical position as a crucial global transport corridor.

The Russian delegation offered to train Iraqi personnel at the Russian Transport Academy, and showed a keen interest in developing railway lines as part of Iraq's Development Road project and expressed a desire to invest in various transportation sectors across Iraqi cities, especially in railways.

Full statement from the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

The Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to the Russian Federation Haider Mansour Al Athari received Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Dmitry Stanislavovich Zverev, at the Iraqi Embassy in Moscow, with the attendance of Mr. Alexander Shatalin Chief Expert of air, land and maritime transport at the Russian Ministry of Transport. The two sides discussed future steps to sign agreements that should serve the interests of the two friendly countries. The Russian side expressed its appreciation for the approval of the Iraqi Prime Minister's Office on the draft agreement, stressing his country's readiness to review the draft of the project and proceed to signing the agreement, noting that Iraq's distinguished geographical location makes it a global transport corridor.

Additionally both sides discussed ways of cooperating in the field of transport in general and land transportation in particular, as the Russian side expressed its readiness to train Iraqi staffs at the Russian Transport Academy, and to receive Iraqi students willing to study at the Academy. The possibility of twinning between Iraqi and Russian universities was also discussed, as well signing cooperation agreements between them.

In regards to cooperation in the field of land transportation, the Russian side expressed its interest in establishing railway lines within the "Development Road" project, and participating in investment opportunities in various fields of transport in Iraqi cities, especially in the field of railways.

In addition they stressed the need to sign a land and sea transportation agreement during this year, which marks the eightieth anniversary of establishing the Iraqi-Russian relations.

(Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

From the United Nations:

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has announced the appointment of Mohamed al Hassan of Oman as his new Special Representative for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

He succeeds Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert of the Netherlands, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her commitment and leadership of UNAMI.

Mr. Al Hassan brings to the position a broad range of diplomatic experience with a career spanning over 30 years working on preventive diplomacy, peacebuilding and development.  Most recently, he has served as the Permanent Representative of Oman to the United Nations in New York since 2019.  Prior to that, he held various assignments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Muscat, including Acting Undersecretary for Diplomatic Affairs (2016), Chief of Staff (2015) and Head of the Minister's Department (2012).

Among various senior-level positions, Mr. Al Hassan served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Oman to the Russian Federation and concurrently as non-resident Ambassador to Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia and the Republic of Moldova.  Mr. Al Hassan also previously held the position of Deputy Permanent Representative of Oman to the United Nations in New York.  Prior to this, he was Deputy Permanent Representative of Oman to the United Nations in Geneva.

Mr. Al Hassan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Washington in Seattle, United States, a Master of Science degree in international relations from St. John's University in New York, and a PhD in economics from Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics in the Russian Federation.  He speaks Arabic, English, Norwegian and Russian.

(Source: UN)

By John Lee.

Iraq's Minister of Industry and Minerals, Dr. Khaled Battal Al-Najm, met with Russian Minister of Trade and Industry, Anton Alikhanov, on the sidelines of the International Industrial Exhibition in Russia.

Held annually since 2010, the International Industrial Exhibition is the main industrial, trade, and export platform in Russia. It is organised by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia and the government of the Sverdlovsk Region.

The discussion focused on enhancing bilateral cooperation in the industrial sector and exploring investment projects for mutual benefit.

Minister Al-Najm also participated in a panel discussion with the ministers of trade and industry from Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The session, centered on enhancing global competitiveness and ensuring digital transformation for national economies within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states, addressed topics such as increasing interaction among SCO countries, attracting investors, exploring project implementation opportunities, and sharing expertise in establishing industrial zones and commercial-industrial clusters.

(Sources: Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Minerals; Govt of the Russian Federation)

By John Lee.

Iraqi Airways General Manager, Engineer Manaf Abdul Munim, announced today that direct flights between Iraq and Russia will resume on 16th July.

According to a statement from Iraq's Ministry of Transport, this decision aligns with directives from the Minister of Transport, Razzaq Muhibis Al-Saadawi, recognizing the route's importance for the Iraqi community in Russia.

Initially, there will be two weekly flights from Baghdad to Moscow, operating on Saturdays and Tuesdays, with the potential for additional flights based on demand assessment.

(Source: Ministry of Transport)

By John Lee.

Iraq has been named as the world's third biggest flarer of gas in 2023.

According to the World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Tracker, the worst offender was Russia, followed by Iran, with Iraq in third place. The USA was in fourth place, followed by Venezuela and Algeria.

The full report can be downloaded here.

(Source: World Bank)

By John Lee.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) has reported that Iraqis ranked fifth among the countries that purchased Turkish real estate in May.

Iraqis bought 98 houses in Turkiye in May, putting them behind Russians (437), Iranians (207), Ukrainians (171) and Germans (104).

According to Shafaq News Agency, Iraqis had topped the list from 2015 to 2021.

Click here to view the full report.

(Sources: TurkStat; Shafaq)

By John Lee.

Iraq has appointed a new Ambassador to Russia.

Mr Haider Mansour Al Athari (pictured), assumed his duties on Monday, 3rd June.

Iraq Business News understands that Mr Athari has previously served as Ambassador to Jordan, and more recently as Head of the Europe Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

(Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)