Kurdistan Investment Board to Devolve Powers to Provinces
The Chairman of Kurdistan's Investment Board said that the board will adopt a more strategic approach and devolve investment licensing powers to its three provincial directorates. Minister Herish Muharam, speaking at the 'Iraq: Untapped Opportunities' conference in London, said, "To increase the efficiency of our Investment Board, we are delegating more of our operations to […]
Iraq to Exclude ExxonMobil from 4th Energy Round
The Iraqi Oil Ministry said on Saturday that it will prevent ExxonMobil from participating in the fourth oil licensing round if it does not cancel its contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government, according to AKnews. Abdul Mahdi al-Amidi, Director General of the Contracts and Licenses Department, said that Exxon Mobil violated the working laws of […]
Iraqi Central Bank to Issue New Notes
AKnews reports that the Iraqi Central Bank (ICB) has confirmed it will issue a new bill with a value of 50,000 IQD ($43) but marked as 50 dinars. Deputy chairman of the ICB Dr Muzher Saleh said the bank is working to issue this new money in addition to coins in both Arabic and Kurdish […]
Sub-Governorate Separatism in Iraq
New Examples from Dujayl and Balad. 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 […]
Hyundai Wins $396m Iraq Power Deals
Reuters reports that Iraq has signed contracts worth $396 million with South Korea's Hyundai Engineering to build two new power plants. Laith al-Mamury, head of investments and contracts at the electricity ministry, said the plants will have a total capacity of 1,752 megawatts. There will be five units of 292 MW each in Rumaila, with […]
Basra Council Approves New Investment Commission
Basra's Provincial Council has approved a new board of directors for the Basra Investment Commission (BIC), according to AKnews. Council Chairman Sabah al-Bazouni (pictured) told the news agency that the council endorsed two public sector candidates, Aladdin Tahir Najem and Basil Abbas Ali, and three private sector candidates: Mazen Dakhel Abed al-Zahra, Adel Abdul-Amir Laftah […]
Iraqi Military to get 740 US Trainers
Reuters reports that about 700 U.S. trainers, mostly civilian, will help Iraqi security forces when American troops leave, far less than the several thousand troops and contractors once under discussion between Baghdad and Washington. The number of U.S. troops and trainers to remain in Iraq was the subject of months of informal talks before President Barack […]
KRG to Launch Major Sanitation Programme
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is embarking on a water supply and sewerage programme worth $910 million USD (1 billion IQD), according to AKnews. Samir Abdullah [Samir Abdullah Mustafa, Samir Akrawi], Minister of Municipalities and Tourism (pictured), told a press conference that the Goptapa-Chamchamal water project will supply drinking water for 300,000 people in central […]
Iranian Invasion: Karbala’s Hotel Owners Fighting for their Livelihood
Karbala relies heavily on Iranian pilgrims to important religious sites in the area. But hotel owners are crying foul: they say Iranians are openly monopolizing tourism in Karbala and covertly buying up local properties, according to this article from Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views […]
Zain Iraq signs $650m deal with Ericsson
In one of the largest deals of its kind in the Middle East, Zain, one of Iraq’s leading mobile telecommunications providers, has signed a US$650 million five-year network outsourcing agreement with Ericsson, the world's leading provider of telecommunications technology and services and its local partner SIM (Service in Motion). Under this agreement, Ericsson will optimize, […]
Groundstar Resources Presses Ahead at Qara Dagh
Groundstar Resources has announced that it is joining with its partners, Niko Resources and Vast Resources, in proceeding at Qara Dagh, where site-preparation, engineering and logistics will be carried out in the first half of 2012. The QD-2 well is anticipated to spud in the second half of 2012. Groundstar and partners are also exploring […]
Professional Association for Iraqi English Teachers Formed
More than 100 educators from all over Iraq attended a conference in Baghdad sponsored by the U.S. Embassy and the British Council November 17-19 to launch the country’s first association dedicated to professional development and networking for English teachers. The participants, representing the primary, secondary, and university levels, established an Iraqi affiliate of the international […]