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By John Lee.

The Iraq Mission Chief for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that the staff-monitored program that started in November 2015 is designed with a focus on four key elements:

• reducing budget spending and restoring public finances to a healthy state and stabilize debt;
• protecting spending on the social front to ease the lives of the poorest, internally displaced people and refugees;
• improving the quality of public spending and prevent accumulation of unpaid debt through improvements in public financial management; and,
• beginning the process of restructuring state-owned banks to reduce their dominance in the banking system, thereby mitigating financial sector risks and preserving the sector’s stability.

Christian Josz told IMF News:

"By preserving macroeconomic stability, including debt sustainability, the Iraqi authorities are laying the ground for private sector development.

"Furthermore, the authorities can also spur private sector-led growth by restructuring state-owned enterprises—including the six state-owned banks—and prioritizing investment projects, such as in the electricity sector, which will help improve infrastructure development."

(Source: IMF News)

(IMF image via Shutterstock)

Iraq is seeking to attract Mexican investors into its energy, industrial and infrastructure sectors, according to the head of Iraq's diplomatic mission to Mexico, Hisham Al Jeborri.

According to a report from BNamericas, he said that 15 Mexican companies are already active in Iraq, mainly in the areas of oil pipelines, machinery and agricultural tools.

And while bilateral trade with Mexico remains weak, there are opportunities in Iraq for Mexican firms in the electricity, petrochemical, construction, infrastructure and agriculture sectors, he was reported as saying, adding:

"We want more Mexican companies operating in Iraq, we are offering a lot of opportunities for them to get to know the business potential we have."

Iraq has this year begun a diplomatic campaign to strengthen its trade relations with various countries, including Mexico, particularly in the energy, financial, medical, construction and agriculture and fisheries sectors, he said, adding that the country aims to double the presence of Mexican firms established there.

The Iraqi diplomatic service will seek a meeting with Mexico's Pemex to broker an agreement between the firm and its Iraqi counterpart.

(Source: BNamericas)

(Flag image via Shutterstock)

By Bijan Khajehpour, for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

For the past two decades, energy interconnectivity has been one of the pillars of Iran’s regional relations. From the early days of the so-called oil swap deals between Iran and Central Asia in the 1990s through the expansion of a regionally structured grid of gas pipelines, and to a growing connectivity of electricity grids, Iran has gradually become the region’s main energy hub.

In this process, Iran is not just focusing on expanding its own export potential, but on the notion of regional energy interdependency. In fact, the latest initiative — a planned crude pipeline from Iraqi Kurdistan to Iran — highlights the country’s indispensable role as an energy hub in the entire region.

Indeed, Iran and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have reportedly agreed on the technical details of a plan to build a pipeline with a capacity of up to 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to Iran. Reports highlight that the pipeline would connect Koysinjaq in the KRG, crossing the border at Parvez Khan and then go to Kermanshah in western Iran, where the crude would be inserted into the Iranian pipeline system and potentially used in the country’s northern refineries.

The idea of a pipeline connecting the KRG with one of Iran’s western refineries had been initiated in 2014 following major disagreements between the KRG and the Baghdad government regarding the flow of payments from Baghdad for oil exports through the existing pipeline going to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Tensions between Baghdad and Ankara over Turkey’s position toward the so-called Islamic State as well as the deepening Syrian crisis were additional parameters in the Kurdish calculation to develop an alternative oil export route.

By John Lee.

Power supply ships have reportedly returned to work in Basra following threats from the governor to expel them.

The ships, reportedly owned by the Turkish-based Karadeniz Holding, had stopped production for several hours due to unpaid debts of $85 million owed to them by the Ministry of Electricity.

The Turkish company supplies Basra province with 410 MW of power.

Local media reports that there are three Turkish vessels loctated in the ports of Khor al-Zubair, Umm Qasr and Abu Flous.

(Sources: local media, Ministry of Electricity)

The Ministry of Electricity of the Republic of Iraq (the MOE) herby announces issuing a Request for Proposal (PFP) in connection with the following tenders no. MOE/HQ/19/2016 for renewable Energy of 50 MW SAWA PV Power Plant Project on a (BOO) basis, Build, Own, Operate, at Al-Salman District, Al Muthana Governorate, Iraq.

Tender Rules against non refundable amount of 250.000 ID, two hundred fifty thousand Iraqi Dinar, to be paid against a receipt from the following address.

The Ministry of Electricity, Office of Investment and Contracts – Tenders Section, Ministry of Electricity Headquarters, Al Niqabat Street, Al Mansour District, Baghdad, Iraq.

Interested parties should note the following:-

1. The MOE will enter into a power purchase contract with the winning bidder.
2. The term of power purchase contract will be 20 years.
3. Further details are laid out in the (RFP)
4. Authorized representative should have an authorization letter to buy the Tender Rules.
5. Any further questions can be referred to: [email protected] or contact cell no. 07901935786.
6. Closing time at 12 pm Baghdad local time on 20^th of July 2016.

Ra’ad Qassim

Director General

UN emergency fund allocates $15 million to support people fleeing Fallujah

The top United Nations relief official chief today released $15 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to provide urgent life-saving assistance for people affected by the recent fighting and military operations in Fallujah.

“People escaping Fallujah are in desperate need of assistance now, this minute. We must act fast before this situation becomes a humanitarian catastrophe. These funds are time critical; however they only offer a small portion of what is urgently needed,” said Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, in a statement issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“I call on donors to immediately support our humanitarian response and leverage this CERF allocation with additional resources so that together we can effectively address the growing humanitarian needs throughout Iraq,” he added.

Since this past month, more than 85,000 people have been forced to flee the city, displacing families from their homes, communities and livelihoods. Those remaining in the city face dire shortages of food, medicine, electricity and safe drinking water, OCHA said.

“The families who have managed to flee Fallujah have escaped with nothing: they need everything,” warned Lise Grande, Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq.

“Humanitarian partners are working around the clock to provide shelter, water, health care, household kits and specialized support for the victims of gender and sexual-based violence. This CERF grant will allow us to rapidly scale up our efforts, so it could not be more timely,” she added.

By Omar al-Jaffal, for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.v

The anti-government movement led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr (pictured) along with secular young people seems to be headed for violence and clashes with the Iraqi security forces, especially if Haider al-Abadi’s government fails to meet the protesters’ demands that include appointing a technocrat government and eradicating corruption.

The protesters have started preparing for a potential confrontation with riot police by buying gas masks, especially after security forces used tear gas to disperse protests May 21.

A number of young people posted photos on social media (the pages of which have been taken offline now) showing protesters wearing gas masks in a defiant message to the government after Iraqi riot police used tear gas to disperse a crowd May 27 as protesters tried to break into the Green Zone for the third time. They had already been successful on May 20 and in larger numbers on April 30 when they stormed the parliament building.

Protesters said that the security forces resorted to rubber and live bullets during the protests on May 21, claiming that four people were killed as a result of the security forces' brutality.

Al-Monitor interviewed a young man in his early 20s from Sadr City who had acquired a gas mask. Revealing only his first name, which he said was Haider, he said that he regularly participates in the demonstrations held in Baghdad every Friday.

By John Lee.

Iraq has reportedly approved measures requested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unlock loans of $5.4 billion over the coming three years.

An adviser to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told Reuters that the agreement is "on track".

Among the measures approved is the settling of all arrears owed to foreign oil companies by the end of this year.

The funds are understood to be conditional on cuttng spending, increasing non-oil revenue, tax increases, higher charges for electricity, and better banking supervision to fight corruption and money laundering.

Baghdad expects IMF approval by the end of June or early July for the first tranche of about $600 million.

(Source: Reuters)

(IMF image via Shutterstock)

By John Lee.

India's BGR Energy Systems has said it has decided to cancel a carryover contract value of $246 million relating to its contract to build a power plant in Nasiriya.

The company won the contract for the 500-megawatt (MW) gas turbine plant in 2013.

Iraq's Ministry of Electricity provided a letter of credit for 50 percent of the contract value in favour of the company and the latter issued a performance bond.

The company said, since terrorists have taken over various parts of Iraq and continued terror attacks across the country, the company could not proceed with execution of the contract.

BGR Energy Systems Limited is listed at the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange. The Company was originally incorporated in 1985, as a joint venture between GEA Energietechnik GmbH, Germany and B. G. Raghupathy (pictured).

(Source: Business Standard)

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

Samira Ayyash and her family are refusing to return to Ramadi in Anbar province after having fled to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Ayyash fears that she and her two sons and daughter could fall victim to a landmine or bomb in the Ramadi streets or inside their house, which they deserted June 8, 2015, to escape the oppression of the Islamic State (IS).

Ayyash told Al-Monitor, "Returning to Ramadi right now is impossible as long as the city is not clear of landmines. Our neighbors and friends who are currently in Ramadi tell us that there is a major threat to civilians from landmines, and this is worrying. We fled death when IS controlled Ramadi; we cannot risk our lives again. We will stay in Baghdad so as not to fall victim to a landmine or bomb."

According to the estimates of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Ramadi is the city with the most landmines in the world, and most of the city neighborhoods are unsafe because of these explosives.

Lisa Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said in a statement after visiting Ramadi March 24 that civilians risk their lives in the city because of landmines and booby-traps everywhere.

She said that the Iraqi government should make clearing landmines its top priority to ensure the security of the civilians living in the city, because Ramadi is unsafe for the displaced to return and it is difficult to ensure their safety there.