Iraqi Civil Society Joins Government-Led Transparency Initiative

By Ali Al-Mawlawi, Iraqi Institute for Economic Reform The Iraqi Ministry of Oil hosted a symposium on Sunday as part of efforts to include Iraqi civil society organizations in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The event was organized by the head of the Iraqi EITI, Alaa Mohie El-Deen, and brought together NGO’s nationwide, including […]

Lesson 6: Inviting Friends for Dinner

The bellman brings Ryan’s bag to the room. Bellman:  Ustaath, wehn aHuT il janTa? العامِل: أُستاذ وين أحُط الجَنطه؟ Sir, where may I put the bag? Ryan:  Rajaa’ann HuTha ‘all sirir. راين: رجاءً حُطها عالسِرير. Please put it on the bed. Bellman:  Ustaath, inta tiHtaaj ba’ad fed shi? العامِل: أُستاذ، إنتَ تِحتاج بَعَد فَد شي؟ […]

Vocabulary – Lesson 6

Iraqi عربي English ustaath أُستاذ sir aani aHuT آني أحُط                        I put HuTa (m) حُطه                             put it (m) HuTha (f) حُطهه                           put it (f) ‘ala على on il siriir السِرير                          the bed inta tiHtaaj إنتَ تِحتاج                     you need fed shi فَد شي                          something ba’ad fed shi بَعَد فَد شي                    something, anything else musaa’adtak مُساعَدتَك                      […]

Gas Auction Postponed, but Terms Sweetened

Iraq is about to sweeten the contract terms for its third bidding round for its three prized natural gas fields, in an attempt to entice international companies to enter the auction, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Unlike oil deals for the first and second bidding rounds for oil fields last year, […]

Iraq Loses Oil Revenue

Iraq is currently losing oil revenues of 100 thousand barrels per day (bpd) because Kurdistan is not producing oil, the spokesperson of the Iraqi Oil Ministry said on Sunday. “Kurdistan will not affect the Iraqi budget by stopping oil production, but the country is losing additional revenues that can be used in the rebuilding processes,” […]

KRG Dismisses Remarks by Iraqi Oil Minister

The spokesman of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) rejected  remarks made by the Iraqi Oil Minister, Hussein Shahrestani, on Sunday about illegal oil trade through the Kurdistan Region. Shahrestani called on the KRG to justify its position regarding exporting  oil to Iran, in a statement made to the Arabic radio channel Sawa. "In accordance with […]

Oil Smuggling in Iraq - 5 Tankers Seized

Security services in Basrah have seized tankers intended for the smuggling of oil, according to a report from Eye Media Company. A security source said the Police Directorate of South Oil seized a tanker containing more than 30 000 liters of white oil in Al-Berjisiah, west of Basra. According to News of Basra, the tanker […]

Diyala State Electric Company to Upgrade Plant

The Diyala State Company for Electric Industries has set out a new program to rehabilitate and renovate its operations. For this purpose it signed contracts worth 2 billion Iraqi dinars [$1.7m] with suppliers for the provision new equipment. A source in the company said that many contracts will be completed in between 2 and 7 […]

Kurdistan Gold Imports Increased by Nine Times

The Kurdistan Region imported nearly 10,000 Kg of gold in the first six months of this year, nine times more than last year, a source at the Region’s Jewelry Control Directorate told AKnews. Ismael Sabir, the technical administrator in Kurdistan Region's Jewelry Control Directorate, said that 9, 449 Kg of gold were traded in the […]

Kuwait Gets $650m in Iraqi Reparation

The United Nations released $650 million in Iraqi compensation to Kuwait on Thursday, the latest payment of a war reparation scheme that began in 1994. The payment brings the total sum of compensation paid to Kuwait to $30.1 billion dollars. A further $22.3 billion is due to Kuwait. Most of the latest round went to […]

Indian Companies to Invest in Basra

A delegation representing Indian companies is visiting Basra to learn about investment opportunities in the province, according to a report from Aswat al-Iraq. "The delegation, which consists of a number of Indian companies, held talks with the second deputy governor, Ahmad al-Hasni, on Thursday, regarding investment opportunities in different fields in Basra,” the source told […]

Albaraka Türk to Open Branch in Erbil

Emerging from the global financial crisis unscathed, several Turkish banks plan to expand into neighbouring countries. Following Ziraat Bankas‎, Bankas‎ and Kuveyt Türk, leading Turkish bank Albaraka Türk is also planning to open a branch in Erbil, northern Iraq, Fahrettin Yah‏i, the general manager of the bank, said yesterday. The growing business volume between Turkey […]