PM Barzani meets Pope’s Envoy
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, yesterday received in Erbil Archbishop Giorgio Lingua, Apostolic Nuncio in Iraq and his accompanying delegation. Archbishop Giorgio Lingua said that the Vatican follows the situation in the Kurdistan Region very closely. He conveyed Vatican’s gratitude to the Kurdistan Region for sheltering and assisting the internally displaced persons and refugees, […]
FM Receives Head of UNICEF
By John Lee. Foreign Minister Dr. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, received the Executive Director of UNICEF, Mr. Anthony Lake, and the accompanying delegation on Tuesday. They reviewed the work of the organization and services to care for children of the world and Iraq. Dr. Jaafari said that the world today is witnessing the dire reality in the […]
Currency Auction Results, 21st Jan
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has reported that 16 banks took part in its currency auction on Wednesday. A total of $123,867,000 was sold at a price of 1166 Iraqi Dinars (IQD) per dollar. (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)
Weekly Security Update, 13 - 19 January 2015
National Overview The establishment of new Sinjar governing institutions revives KRG-PKK rivalry as Peshmerga operations continue to resist ISIS attacks in the Gwer-Mosul corridor. Formed on Wednesday 14 January following the nomination of local residents of the Sinjar (also known as Shingal) and surrounding regions, the Yezidi administrative council has evoked a mixed response from […]
Turkey, Iraq Agree on Gas Pipeline
By John Lee. Iraq and Turkey have agreed on a new natural gas pipeline project. The announcement was made during the visit of Turkey's Energy Minister, Taner Yıldız, to Iraq on Sunday to attend 17th meeting of the Turkey-Iraq Joint Economic Commission. Technical analysis on a new natural gas pipeline will start soon. According to […]
Iran Wins $40m Iraq Cable Contract
By John Lee. An Iranian company has struck a $40-million deal with Iraq for the supply of high voltage cables. Alireza Kolahi, the Managing Director of Abhar Cable & Wire Co., said the contract was won despite competition from Malaysia, South Korea, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, UAE and Saudi Arabia. He said the Iraqi electricity industry […]
Dragon Oil to Accelerate Evaluation of Faihaa-1
By John Lee. In its Trading Statement this morning, Dragon Oil issued the following update on its operations in Iraqi Kurdistan: "On 10 September 2014, the partners in Block 9 in Iraq, Dragon Oil (30%) and Kuwait Energy (70% and operator), announced their first oil discovery at the consortium's first target, the Mishrif formation, reached […]
Germany’s New Consul General visits DFR
The new German consul general to Erbil, Dieter Lamle, visited the KRG Department of Foreign Relations on Monday to introduce himself and to discuss latest developments with Minister Falah Mustafa, Head of the KRG Foreign Relations. In welcoming Mr Lamle, Minister Mustafa stated that the Kurdistan Region strongly values its ties with Germany and praised […]
Latvian Ambassador Visits Kurdistan
The Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia to Turkey, Iran, and Iraq, Mr. Atis Sjanits, visited the KRG Department of Foreign Relations on Monday to discuss political, security, and humanitarian developments in Kurdistan and the wider Region. In his first visit to the Kurdistan Region, Ambassador Sjanits commended the KRG for the security and stability […]
Currency Auction Results, 20th Jan
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has reported that 20 banks took part in its currency auction on Tuesday. A total of $224,696,000 was sold at a price of 1166 Iraqi Dinars (IQD) per dollar. (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)
Record Oil Production set to Increase
By John Lee. Iraq produced a record of around 4 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in December, Oil Minister Adel Abdel Mehdi (pictured) told a press conference on Sunday. This beat the previous record for Iraqi production of 3.56 million bpd in 1979, according to an official from the State Oil Marketing […]
UAE Offers Mirage Fighters to Iraq
By John Lee. Defense News cites a source within the government of the United Arab Emirates as saying that the UAE may sell up to 10 Mirage 2000-9s fighter jets to the Iraqi Air Force in March. The decision comes following a visit by the Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, to Abu Dhabi in December. […]