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Saudi Arabia has named an ambassador to Baghdad for the first time since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari (pictured) told Reuters on Tuesday.

"This is a very positive development," he added.

A Saudi Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "We nominated our ambassador in Jordan [Fahd al-Zaid] as ambassador for Iraq as well, but he will not be residing in Iraq."

Martin Kobler, the special representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq, welcomed the move as an “important step” toward normalizing ties between the two countries, according to the New York Times.

Saudi commentators said the move appeared to be motivated mostly the country's desire to strengthen its relationship with Iraq before the Arab League summit in Baghdad at the end of March.

A successful summit in Baghdad would help restore Iraq's place in the Arab world and perhaps contribute to allaying Gulf states' concerns about Iran's influence in post-war Iraq.

(Sources: Reuters, New York Times)

The Basra Investment Commission has approved a $100 million waste plant to be built by Dow Chemical's Kuwait branch, according to AKnews.

The company, which already has plants in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, will enter Basra and invest in water purification projects and will consider providing environmental solutions, professional consultation and technical services.

Waste and industrial water will be treated and recycled, converting polluted river water and high saline ground water into safe water for drinking and irrigation.

Tawfiq al-Manei, company adviser and director of the International Bureau of Consultancy and Economic Studies, said: "We chose Basra because of its multiple benefits, most importantly the geographical location for the State of Kuwait.

"The rate of waste in Basra reaches to 2,000 tons a year which makes us in dire need for such projects to recycle and treat waste and improve the environmental situation in Basra."

(Source: AKnews)

This article was written by Abeer Mohammed and Anas al-Bdeer, and was originally published by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, iwpr.net. It is reproduced by Iraq Business News with permission. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Reported comments by an Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander boasting of his country’s influence abroad have sparked controversy in Iraq. Analysts say the seriousness with which the incident was taken reflects the huge sensitivities surrounding sovereignty issues after the United States military withdrawal.

Tehran quickly moved to insist that the comments attributed to the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, Qassem Sulaimani, in which he apparently suggested that both Iraq and southern Lebanon were under Iranian control, were badly misquoted.

“These statements are false. They are groundless and meant to achieve crooked aims,” a statement which the Iranian embassy in Baghdad sent IWPR on January 21 said.

The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, said the actual comments Sulaimani made were mistranslated.

“In his original remarks, Brigadier-General Qassem Sulaimani said many countries in the region are inspired by the ideas of the Islamic revolution in Iran,” he told the As-Safir newspaper. “Unfortunately, his words have been deliberately twisted.”

Saudi Telecom (STC), the kingdom’s largest telephone company, has reportedly abandoned plans to bid for Iraq’s fourth mobile-phone licence after delays in awarding the contract.

Ghassan Hasbani, the company’s chief executive officer for international operations, told MEED that they will only be interested in the licence if they receive “concrete” information from the government.

(Sources: MEED, Bloomberg)

Iraq would be drastically affected should Iran block the Hormuz Strait. Most of the oil Iraq produces is exported via the Strait. The scenario is seeing Iraq, distinct because of its good relations with both the US and Iran, practice its new diplomacy again, according to this article from NIQASH.

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

Iran’s threats to block seagoing traffic in the Hormuz Strait, one of the most important waterways in the world, have caused strong reactions in Iran’s neighbour, Iraq, as well. Iran has made the threats in response to possible European and US economic sanctions. And despite the current internal political turmoil in Iraq, it has also led to another significant attempt by Iraq at international diplomacy.

Around one fifth of all crude oil passes through the narrow shipping channel, which lies between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. Iraq is currently heading OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and as such, Iraq’s Minister of Oil Abdul-Kareem Luaibi announced that he would be travelling to Tehran this week in order to extract assurances from Iran that they wouldn’t block the Strait.

In terms of diplomacy, this is another notable attempt at mediation by Iraq. The most recent involved Iraq’s intervention between the Arab League and Syria, which continues this week with Iraq declaring further intentions to continue to assist in trying to defuse the Syrian crisis.

In terms of the Hormuz Strait issue, Iraq is really the only nation that can do this kind of thing, as it has good relationships with the US and Iran. Iraq also sits in the middle between the nations like Saudi Arabia who are friendly towards the US and nations that consider themselves resistant to US influence, such as Iran. It’s hard to say whether this diplomatic role will continue in the future – some believe that Iran’s influence will grow and lead Iraq into that country’s corner whereas others say that US influence will remain strong.

PRweek reports that the Iraqi unit of Kuwaiti telecoms company Zain has hired PR agency support in advance of its listing on the Iraq Stock Exchange.

The firm has been planning an initial public offering (IPO) in Iraq since the summer and has asked London-based M:Communications to support communications relating to the listing process.

M: will provide PR and investor relations advisory services in Iraq itself.

The Zain listing is one of three major telecoms floats in Iraq planned for 2012. However, the Zain account is understood to be the only one of the three that has specified on-the-ground support in Baghdad.

It is thought the need for representation in Iraq proved problematic for a number of agencies that ultimately declined to pitch for the brief.

Nicholas Lunt, MD of M:’s Gulf business, added that the company would also be working with the management of Zain Saudi Arabia.

The news comes days after it was confirmed that FTI Consulting was working for Iraqi telecoms firm Asiacell ahead of its planned flotation later in the year. The firm, partly owned by Qatar Telecommunications, plans to sell a 25 per cent stake, potentially valuing the firm at more than $4bn.

Korek, a mobile group in which France Telecom and Kuwaiti logistics group Agility have a stake, is also planning a 2012 IPO. Korek is not thought to have selected a comms consultancy at this stage.

(Source: PRweek)

AKnews reports that over 16 million pilgrims flocked to Karbala to mark Arbain, the 40th day after Ashura, which is the day Shiite's believe Imam Hussein Ibn Ali was martyred in the 7th century.

The deputy leader of the Karbala Provincial Council Nassif, Jassem al-Khutabi, told AKnews that over half a million come from abroad, including from Europe, America, Australia, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Afghanistan.

Khutani called on the federal government and the Iraqi Council of Representatives to vote on Karbala City's request to form a special body to deal with the millions of visitors to Iraq.

"The visitors need security and services that Karbala and other popular provinces cannot manage without the cooperation of their neighbors."

(Source: AKnews)

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Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called on U.S. companies to help rebuild Iraq, according to Reuters.

In a speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Maliki said:

"As much as we committed to defeat terrorism, we are now committed to grow the private sector ... It is now not the generals, but corporations and business leaders who will be at the front of this stage."

He told the packed crowd of U.S. business officials Iraq has the opportunity to work with companies from all over the world to rebuild itself after three decades of war, but it believes the United States has the "best companies" to help it help it diversify its economy away from one heavily dependent on oil.

"We are not satisfied with the number of American companies in Iraq," he said, adding the Iraqi government would make it "as easy as possible" for U.S. companies to invest.

Maliki led a delegation that included top Iraqi trade, investment and transportation officials and about 30 to 40 business leaders from energy, construction, health care and other sectors eager to make deals with American companies.

The U.S. Commerce Department hosted a "matchmaking session" on Wednesday to allow interested U.S. and Iraqi companies to meet one-on-one.

"In the coming years, it's estimated that Iraq's economy will grow even faster than China's or India's. With oil production rising, Iraq is on track to once again be one of the region's leading oil producers," President Barack Obama said.

Commerce Secretary John Bryson added that Iraq's plan to spend about $186 billion over the next five years on more than 2,700 development projects is a promising opportunity for U.S. companies that will also help put people back to work in the United States.

The United States currently trails other countries in investing in Iraq, despite the heavy price it has paid over the past decade in the country.

The 2nd Basra Oil & Gas, organized by Expotim International Fair Organizations INC and Pyramids International Group, concluded on the 28th November with record exhibitor and visitor numbers. The 2011 edition of the largest oil & gas show in Iraq welcomed 17,000 visitors from over 40 countries emphasizing its stance as an international exhibition.

This was the largest oil & gas event ever held in Iraq. The top five visiting countries to this year’s Edition, after UAE, were, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Turkey.

Being officially supported by the Ministry of Oil, event had great impact by being the foremost platform of the the oil & gas industry of Iraq with both its exhibition and conference sections

Having 411 participant companies, 2nd Basra Oil & Gas has been headed for a record. Top 7 sectors in the event were: “Oilfield, Gasfield Equipment & Services, Construction, Measurement & Automation Technologies, Drilling and Well Servicing, Tools & Electro-Power Equipment, Transportation & Pipelines and Refining, Processing and Petrochemicals.” Geographical breakdown of the exhibitors by region is as follows: “48% - Middle East, 36% Europe, 8% America, 8% Asia / Australia.”

2nd Basra Oil & Gas hosted many of the leading companies in the industry, including: Samsung, Mitsubishi, Cameron, FMC Technologies, Tenaris, SGS, CNPC, Emerson Process Management, General Electric, Honeywell and Siemens.

Commenting on the show’s efficiency, one of the exhibitors of the event named Viking International, said: “This was a great event for all the members of Oil & Gas Industry in Basra.”

The conference section has been held concurrently with the exhibition, with the theme "IRAQ ON TRACK IN CONTRIBUTING TO FUTURE WORLD ENERGY SUPPLY" on 26th and 27th November. Effective participation of Ministry of Oil officials as presenters in the first session attracted great interest. Their presentations were in the following domains: “The Industry’s Workflow, The Oil Domain – Oil Production and Refining, The Gas Domain – Gas Processing, The Infrastructures of the Industry, Oil & Gas and Products Disposal (Local and Exports)”.

The credibility of the event is further demonstrated by the audit that has been made during the event by BPA worldwide. Being a candidate for UFI membership, Basra International Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition is unique in terms of its compliance with international standards. It is the first time in Iraq that an event has been audited.

Besides the deals were being done and contracts being finalized by key buyers and decision makers of Iraq Oil & Gas Industry, manufacturers preferred 2nd Basra Oil & Gas to showcase their new products into the region – the reputation of the event in the oil & gas industry in Iraq making it a vital part of most company’s promotional campaigns. General Electric had a technology seminar on the last day of the event to showcase its new technology.

After the great success of the 2nd Basra Oil & Gas, we are glad to announce that over 90% of the exhibitors are satisfied with the visitor profile, more than 80% of the exhibitors found event truly efficient and 95% of the participants confirmed their willingness to participate in the 3rd edition that will be held between 25-28 November 2012.

We would like to invite all companies to join Basra Oil & Gas event in order to take advantage of the immense business opportunities that Iraq offers. In order to get the “early bird discount” and for further information, please contact [email protected].