Canada to Establish Diplomatic Presence in Erbil
The Canadian Ambassador to Iraq and Jordan, Mr Mark Gwozdecky, met with Minister Falah Mustafa yesterday as part of his farewell tour of Kurdistan. Ambassador Gwozdecky has served in his post for over three years. He will return to Ottawa to head the Middle East Bureau at their Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During their meeting, […]
Barzani's Goodwill Baghdad Tour
By Mustafa al-Kadhimi for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Kurdistan Region of Iraq President Massoud Barzani's visit to Baghdad on July 7 carries many connotations. It also reflects an Iraqi environment favorable to dialogue, not only to resolve the problems […]
Parliament Manages to Agree… On Own Membership
By Reidar Visser. The following article was published by Reidar Visser, an historian of Iraq educated at the University of Oxford and currently based at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. It is reproduced here with the author’s permission. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq […]
Weekly Security Update 04 - 09 July 2013
By Tom Walker, Director, Assaye Risk COUNTRY OVERVIEW This week saw a change in the security situation with a significant decrease in the recent persistent levels of violence that have plagued the country. We have seen a reduced number of high impact attacks taking place, as much of the Sunni insurgency focus would appear to […]
India Interested in Iraqi Refineries
By John Lee. India is interested in building refineries and petrochemical plants in Iraq, according to a report from the Economic Times. Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily (pictured), who led a 28-member delegation to participate in the 17th India-Iraq Joint Commission meeting in Baghdad, expressed interest in setting up gas-based projects including fertiliser plants. He […]
Spudding of Shaikan-10 Development Well
Gulf Keystone has announced that further to the approval of the Field Development Plan for the Shaikan field, a world class commercial discovery, announced on 26 June 2013, the Company has commenced its development drilling programme with the spudding of Shaikan-10. In parallel, production operations from the newly commissioned Shaikan production facility ("PF-1") are scheduled […]
Failed Banking System Prompts Iraqis to Hoard Gold
By Abdel Hamid Zebari for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. There is an old Arabic saying that "gold is both for decoration and storing." Currently, Iraqis, particularly residents of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, are taking these words to heart. […]
Italy to Upgrade Diplomatic Presence
The newly arrived Italian Consul in Erbil, Dr Carmelo Ficarra, met with Minister Falah Mustafa to discuss ways of building upon his predecessor’s success. Italy has a Consular Office in Erbil, which is due to be upgraded to a fully-fledged Consulate later this year. In welcoming him to Kurdistan, Minister Mustafa encouraged him to use […]
Dutch Delegation Visits Kurdistan
The Dutch Minister for Migration and State Secretary of Security and Justice, Mr Fred Teeven, met with Minister Falah Mustafa as part of his visit to the Kurdistan Region to discuss bilateral ties. The visit is part of an effort to further strengthen ties between Kurdistan and the Netherlands. Minister Mustafa expressed his appreciation to […]
What are Egypt's Lessons for Iraq?
By Mustafa al-Kadhimi for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The June 30 events in Egypt deserve to be carefully and attentively interpreted at all levels, as far as Iraq is concerned. The rapid political change in Egypt did not take […]
Currency Class War: Damaged Dinar Notes
By Waheed Ghanim. This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Currency Class War: Damaged Dinar Notes result in Bribery, Injustice Exchange shops, bank cashiers and savvy housewives are doing big business as they deal with Iraq’s […]
The Fragmentation of the Political Landscape
By Reidar Visser. The following article was published by Reidar Visser, an historian of Iraq educated at the University of Oxford and currently based at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. It is reproduced here with the author’s permission. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq […]