Video: "US, Saudis Unleash al-Qaeda on Iraq"
From Iran’s PressTV. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. An analyst says, Iraq is being pressured with terrorist bomb attacks by foreign imperial entities and Persian Gulf dictatorships to reverse their position on Syria. In the background of this at least 40 […]
Iraq On Track for Big Wheat Crop
By John Schnittker, Chief Economist at Schnittker Associates, and former Ministry Advisor at the US Embassy in Baghdad. Iraq’s 2013 winter grain prospects appear to be good to excellent condition at this time. Late fall and early winter rains as well as irrigation supplies have been adequate to support increased plantings and good early growth […]
Education for All – Cultural Empowerment, Political Imperative
Picture: Dr Mahmoud Osman, Member of the Council of Representatives Iraq, speaking at yesterday's conference. By Madeleine White, educationalist, writer and Head of Strategic Partnerships, Whizz Education. I was going to write about Educational Technology, as Bett (the world’s leading educational technology event) is happening in London at the end of the month. I also […]
EU-Iraq Agreement: New Opportunities to Boost Democracy
Iraq can enjoy new economic opportunities and receive a boost to its efforts to promote democracy and human rights in the country thanks to its first-ever framework agreement with the EU. That is the view of Italian Christian Democrat MEP Mario Mauro (pictured), who is responsible for steering the agreement through Parliament. He is recommending […]
DPM Discusses Investment with Australian Ambassador
By John Lee. The Deputy Prime Minister, Salih al-Mutleg [Saleh Al-Mutlaq], hosted the Australian Ambassador to Iraq, Lyndall Sachs (pictured), at his office in Baghdad. AIN reports that the two sides discussed encouraging Australian investment companies to work in industrial, agricultural and humanitarian development fields. The Ambassador said her country was ready to offer all support […]
Iraq’s Political Rights Rating Falls
By John Lee. Iraq’s political rights rating declined over the past year, according to a new report from Freedom House. The fall was due to the concentration of power by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and increasing pressure on the political opposition, as exemplified by the arrest and death sentence in absentia of Vice President Tariq […]
Anti-Maliki Demos Show no Sign of Slowing
For weeks, Sunni Arab tribesmen have taken over the centre of Samarra to rail against the "injustices" of Iraq's Shiite-led authorities: (Source: AFP)
13,000 and Counting
By John Lee. A partner at a London-based financial advisory business has suggested Iraq as a true frontier market investment, saying: “The greatest opportunities for emerging market investors have always come when political chaos coincides with a dire media consensus, and a major underlying economic improvement is thereby ignored. Iraq stands firmly in this tradition […]
Samsung Wins $879m Badra Deal
By John Lee. Iraq and the Russian state oil producer Gazprom Neft have awarded an $879 million contract to South Korea's Samsung Group to develop the Badra oil field in eastern Iraq. Samsung will design and build phase two of a central processing facility (CPF) for oil production in the field, which is expected to […]
Dubai Private Sector Trade with Iraq Soars
By John Lee. Dubai’s overall exports and re-exports from the private sector to Iraq rose by more 350 percent to value $11.4bn in 2012, according to data from the Dubai Chamber. Trade with Libya was up by 300 percent, while trade with Turkey doubled. The Chamber’s director general, Hamad Buamim, said Dubai accounts for 75 […]
Cabinet Issued 472 Decisions in 2012
By John Lee. Iraq's Department of Cabinet Affairs has announced that the Council of Ministers issued 472 decisions during 2012, 366 of them being what they described as "executive decisions". These decisions included 36 regarding laws and international conventions, five resolutions for ministries and departments "not associated with the ministries", and six resolutions concerning development […]
Weekly Security Update
By Gary Sandiford, Olive Group’s Dubai based assessments manager. Olive Group is a leading provider of security and technology solutions and has operated continuously in Iraq since 2003. Overview Olive Groups Iraq statistics are drawn from multiple sources, including media reporting and direct liaison with in country assets. Included within the statistics are a […]