Mines Advisory Group Reviews 2010 Achievements

MAG (pronounced “Mag”) – Mines Advisory Group – is a neutral and impartial humanitarian organisation that clears the remnants of conflict for the benefit of communities worldwide. Since beginning work in Iraq in 1992, MAG’s programme has grown significantly, improving life for hundreds more communities throughout the north of the country. Assessments conducted by Community […]

UK Minister Lord Howell Addresses Iraq-British Business Council

The UK's Foreign Office Minister, Lord Howell, addressed the Iraq-British Business Council (IBBC) on 24 May: It is a pleasure to address you today here at the IBBC’s Iraq Day Summit Conference. The IBBC’s commitment to Iraq is much welcomed by this Government. The UK Government continues to develop a strong and supportive bilateral relationship […]

Ad Melkert Addresses Iraq's Stakeholders

Statement by the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Ad Melkert, at the National Conference of Economic, Social and Government Stakeholders: Your Excellency the Speaker of the Council of Representatives, Usama al-Najaifi; Ministers, Ambassadors, Distinguished Visitors. It is my honour to have the opportunity to address such a diverse cross-section of Iraqi citizens: from government, […]

Hanwha/Harlow to Build 100,000 Houses in Baghdad

The Iraqi National Investment Commission (NIC) signed a $7.25 billion deal to build one hundred thousand housing units as a complete neighborhood East of Baghdad. The signing ceremony with Hanwha Engineering & Construction, one of the largest engineering and construction companies in South Korea, took place at the Iraqi Prime Minister's Office Nouri Al-Maliki this […]

Gulf Keystone Updates on Shaikan-4 Well

Gulf Keystone has announced that the Shaikan-4 Deep Appraisal Well has spudded on the Shaikan block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on Friday 27th May 2011. Shaikan-4 is the second deep appraisal well to be drilled on the company's significant oil discovery with gross oil-in-place volumes of between 4.9 billion barrels to 10.8 billion […]

Kuwait To Wreck Iraq's Coastal Economy

Iraq's main port of Umm Qasr in Basra will lose 60% of its business if Kuwait goes ahead with a neighbouring port of its own, reports AKnews. In addition to thousands of dock workers losing their jobs, it is also believed that the livelihoods of local fishermen will be affected. A dispute over the territory […]

Iraq To Be In The Black For First Time

The Iraqi government is increasing spending by about 25% next year to USD98.45bn, but higher oil prices will still allow it to balance its books for the first time, reports Reuters. Next year's budget will be based on an oil price of $85, due to consistently high oil prices at $100 or more. Even after […]

Basra Airport Renovation Begins

Basra council decided this week to renovate and upgrade Basra International Airport as part of preparation to host the Gulf Cup in 2013, reports AKnews. The airport is Iraq's second biggest. Jabbar Amin Jaber, Basra Council chairman, said: “More than $100 million (116.5 billion Dinars) were allocated to begin the construction within the next couple of […]

Another Way Iraq Business News Can Help You

Despite the well-known challenges facing the country, Iraq's business is on a steep upward trend. Foreign investment, for example, increased by almost 50% last year, and there are no indications that money will not continue to flow into the country. In the past week alone, we've reported on a Korean company signing a deal for […]

Weekly Security Update for 25th May 2011

Overview Levels of violence rose considerably in Iraq last week, making it the worst week so far this year. A spate of bombings in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk left dozens of people dead and injured. The police and military suffered the majority of attacks, but Iraqi oil workers, US soldiers and even three European civilian […]

Iraq Serious About Education

Iraq is not just a nodding donkey. The country's progress can be seen not just in its growing population of oil wells, nor even merely in its breeding building sites. It can also be admired in its rapid expansion in education. Najaf, a city of around 600,000 people south of Baghdad, is to build 15 […]

Czech Republic Takes Iraq Potential Seriously

Czech prime minister Petr Nečas brought a large delegation of businessmen, as well as the minister of defense and the minister of trade and industry, with him to Iraq this week, according to Aswat Al-Iraq. Revealing his commitment and belief in the economic benefits of a good relationship with Iraq, the Czech premier announced that his country […]