The latest news from Kurdistan – security updates, reconstruction and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News.
By Patrick M Schmidt. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has welcomed forty German military advisors who will begin training Peshmerga security forces on weapons newly received from Germany. The advisors have previous experience training foreign militaries. The German military assistance package is valued at $92 million and is aimed to assist in their fight against […]
By John Lee. BasNews reports that the unemployment rate in Kurdistan has risen from 7 percent at the end of 2013 to 10 percent currently. The number unemployed is nearly 100,ooo, of which 52 percent are men. The increase has been blamed on the general economic situation in Iraqi Kurdistan, and on the sanctions that Baghdad […]
By John Lee. At the request of the government of Iraq to provide urgent military support, the UK will supply heavy machine guns and nearly half-a-million rounds of ammunition. China's Xinhua news agency values the assistance at $2.6 million (3 billion Iraqi dinars). According to the statement from the British Ministry for Defence, this will […]
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Kurdish officials have said that they will support the Iraqi central government and Prime Minister Haider al-Abaddi's cabinet for a three month trial period. But the union remains on shaky ground, with the […]
By John Lee. Iraq has taken legal action against Greece’s Marine Management Services (MMS) over its role in the export of crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan, which Baghdad regards as illegal. The tanker concerned, the Marshall Islands-flagged United Kalavrvta (pictured), is still said to be fully laden off the coast of Texas, carrying $100m worth […]
By John Lee. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has reportedly resume the export of oil by truck to Iran. Iran closed its border crossings with the KRG for Kurdish crude oil exportation early last month. (Source: BASNEWS)
By Patrick M Schmidt. The Kurdish Natural Resource Committee has announced that sales of Kurdish crude oil have exceeded $4 billion over the past year. Current crude export figures hover between 120,000 to 150,000 barrels of oil per day. That crude is then piped up to Turkish ports for export. The committee also confirmed that […]
By John Lee. ShaMaran Petroleum has announced the resumption of drilling operations on the Atrush block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Drilling operations at the Chiya Khere-8 development well were suspended for a total of 21 days by TAQA (the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company), operator of the Atrush Block, as a precautionary measure, […]
Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani yesterday chaired a meeting of the Kurdistan Region’s High Council for Investment to discuss various issues related to investment and the economy. In the meeting, implications of the current situation and the latest developments in the Kurdistan Region were discussed, as well as the economic crisis and the effects that Baghdad’s […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. A Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) official has announced that security forces need more advanced equipment to clear minefields in areas once controlled by the Islamic State (IS). He also suggested there was a need for machines that can detect mines and also dispose of buried ordinance. “During the short time that […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. At a press conference held by German Defense Minister Ursula Von Der Leyen (pictured) and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German government officially announced the supply of arms to the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). The deal includes 8,000 G36 assault rifles, 8,000 G3 rifles, ammunition, 200 Panzerfaust anti-tank systems, thirty MILAN […]
A comprehensive count carried out jointly by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the United Nations indicates that some 850,000 Iraqis have been displaced and sought refuge in all three Kurdistan Region governorates since January 2014. According to the Kurdish Ministry of Planning and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) the vast majority of the […]
