By Joe Snell for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Outraged after months of not receiving salaries, regular electricity outages and a failure to provide local business bailouts, protests erupted last week in northern Iraq against the Kurdistan Regional […]
By John Lee. Iran is reportedly ready to start technical negotiations with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over the opening of two important free trade zones. Mehdi Shushtari, Iran's Consul-General in Sulaimani, told Rudaw the preliminary work at Parvizkhan and Bashmakh border crossings has already been completed. Click here to read the full story. (Source: […]
By John Lee. KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani recently laid the foundation stone of a food industry zone in Duhok. In a statement, PM Barzani said: "Our promise is to develop other sectors of the economy and end our dependence on a single source of revenue. "Better infrastructure will benefit the whole of Kurdistan. Our […]
By John Lee. A new 300-megawatt steam power plant has been recently opened in Khabat, on the outskirts of Erbil. The plant, built in partnership with South Korean companies POSCO and the Korean National Oil Company (KNOC), adds 10 percent to the region's electricity capacity. Speaking at the opening ceremony, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani […]
By John Lee. KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani recently laid the foundation stone for a new 100-metre wide highway in Slemani (Sulaymaniyah). The 146-kilometre road will be built in three phases through a cost-sharing arrangement between the KRG and the Qaiwan Group. The first stage, valued at IQD 400 billion ($336 million), is planned to […]
By John Lee. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is preventing about 1,200 Arab families from returning home to 5 villages more than 6 years after the area was retaken from the Islamic State (also known as ISIS), Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Sunday. KRG authorities have allowed Kurdish residents in neighboring villages, in the […]
KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani chaired a cabinet meeting Saturday via videoconference to discuss plans for the public pensions fund. In the meeting attended by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, Minister of Finance and Economy Awat Janab Noori proposer the bylaws for the pensions fund. The Cabinet unanimously approved it. This fund will protect entitlements […]
KRG's Reform Programme Continues: government's operational expenditure system goes digital The Kurdistan Regional Government is this month rolling out a fully digitalised system to control operational expenditure. This important modernisation step - the result of detailed collaboration between various government bodies - will increase efficiency and reduce corruption by ensuring that all government day-to-day expenditure […]
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Wednesday chaired a cabinet meeting via video conference to discuss expenses and the need to adapt to the current budget while protecting public entitlements. In the meeting attended by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, the Council of Ministers stressed continued commitment to reducing salaries of senior officials, including those retired […]
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani chaired a video conference meeting on Tuesday on notarisation of lands and residential housing projects. In the meeting attended by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and other cabinet ministers, Prime Minister Barzani spoke about separating land plots allocated for projects in a bid to resolve the issue of lands granted to […]
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani chaired a meeting via video conference on Monday on the state of Kurdistan Region's customs, border crossings, and companies providing service. In the meeting attended by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and other ministers, the Prime Minister reaffirmed ongoing efforts to carry out financial reforms; organise trade, and review tax exemptions […]
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani chairs meeting on combating new wave of Covid_19 KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Wednesday chaired a meeting with the government's high-level committee on the coronavirus outbreak via video conference. In the meeting attended by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, the Minister of Health presented a detailed report on the increasing […]
