Tag Archives | KRG

Erbil-Baghdad Relations Still Lack Substance

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 visit of a delegation representing the Iraqi National Alliance to the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and its meeting with the region’s president, Massoud Barzani (pictured), was largely considered a step toward […]

Video: Baghdad holds Talks with KRG

From Iran’s PressTV. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Negotiations between Iraq's central government and Kurdistan's regional government have been described as productive. Officials in the Kurdistan Region have sent a letter to Iraq's ruling National Alliance. The alliance has visited Kurdish […]

Genel Energy Shares Jump on Oil Find

By John Lee. Shares in the Anglo-Turkish oil and gas company Genel Energy closed up 6.4 percent on Wednesday after it announced that the first of five exploration wells it plans to drill this year in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has made a significant oil discovery. The company said the Chia Surkh 10 well […]

Iraqi Kurdistan Sells First Crude via Turkey

By John Lee. The first cargo of Iraqi Kurdistan's crude oil has been sold on the international market, industry sources report. World Bulletin says that the crude, pumped from Genel Energy's Taq Taq oilfield (pictured), was exported by truck to Turkey and sold via tender for loading in April. One trader said the cargo sold […]

Spain Welcomes KRG Deputy PM

Deputy Prime Minister Emad Ahmad Sayfour this week in Madrid met with Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation José Manuel García-Margallo. The meeting marked the first official visit by the Deputy Prime Minister to Spain. In their meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad said: "This is the first Kurdistan Regional Government mission to Spain and […]

KRG Statement on EITI Oil Transparency Report

The following is a statement by Kurdistan Regional Government on what it describes as "the manipulation of the EITI process": The EITI oil transparency report that inexplicably disappeared In 2008, the then federal Deputy Prime Minister, Barham Salih, committed Iraq to achieving compliance with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which aims to help citizens […]

KRG to Build Housing for the Poor

By John Lee. AIN has reported that the Prime Minister and the Chairman of the Supreme Investment Council of Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani (pictured), confirmed the government policy of supporting people on low incomes by granting them housing units. Following a meeting for the Supreme Investment Council, that was attended by the Deputy Chairman Emad […]

KRG Clarifies Incident at HKN Energy Block

By John Lee. The Kurdistan Regional Government has denied that an incident involving HKN Energy in the Kurdish region of Iraq was related to security issues, and said it was instead tied to a labour dispute. In a statement, the KRG also denied media reports that about 120 oil workers were held hostage: "The Kurdistan […]

Video: Authorities Investigate Fake Education Certs

From Iran’s PressTV. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The Kurdistan Region's Higher Education Ministry has linked over one hundred and fifty fake certificates to university students since October. Local media now claim that an adviser to Kurdistan's prime minister paid over […]

KRG PM Barzani’s Speech in Reichstag Building

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen Thank you for inviting me to address this important forum on energy and foreign policy. We in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have a great respect for Germany, one of the world’s most successful and established federal democracies. Ten years ago, the US and its allies removed Saddam Hussein from […]

Italy Considers Kurdistan "Gateway to Iraq"

By John Lee. Italy’s new ambassador to Iraq, Massimo Marotti (shown here presenting his credentials to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hoshyar Zebari, in January), has said that Italy considers the Kurdistan Region as the “gateway” to Iraq. On a recent visit to Erbil, he said: "Trade between the Kurdistan Region and Italy has reached $4 billion […]