The latest news from Kurdistan – security updates, reconstruction and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News.
According to a report from Niqash, Massoud Barzani, the Kurdistan Region Government President, was invited recently to Turkey for talks on increasing economic integration between the two states. With trade between the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and Turkey reaching $9 billion, relations between Turkey and the Region have improved significantly. Turkey is working hard in the […]
Overview Levels of violence crept up once again in Iraq last week. What is of concern is that this violence was attributed almost entirely to terrorists and militants, whereas recent weeks saw an increase in violence related to civil unrest. Protests subsided (to a degree) last week but more hostile elements, capable of inflicting far […]
By Tariq Abdell, Iraq’s political risk analyst, and Founder & CEO of Mesopotamia Insight. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. In light of ongoing socio-political changes in MENA region, Iraq's massive protests, from Zakho to al-Faw, accentuate the political astuteness and […]
The Kurdistan Region's police chief said his office has proposed to recruit an additional 3,000 new policemen. Abdullah Khaylani told AKnews that the Kurdistan Interior Ministry agreed to the proposal, and it is currently being discussed in the regional Council of Ministers. The Council will respond to the demand after the ratification of the Kurdistan […]
Salahadin Province Council decided last week to form committees in order to negotiate with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) about drilling for oil in the Tozkhormato region [Tuz Khormato]. Provincial Council member Damen Alaiwi told Alsumaria News that the council decided the plan in order to give people living in that region the right to […]
An international investment magazine has ranked Erbil in fifth position among top Middle East cities with potential for foreign direct investment. This places Erbil ahead of Muscat and Riyadh. FDI Magazine, a subsidiary of the Financial Times, in this month's edition, ran a feature on Middle East cities of the future, ranking cities by economic […]
In an official ceremony, the Head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations Falah Mustafa Bakir and the Chief of Staff to the President of the Kurdistan Region Fuad Hussein opened the new representative office of the KRG in France. During his speech, Mr Bakir noted the importance of this step in […]
Overview Levels of violence fell in Iraq over the past week. This is the first time this has occurred so far this year. Protests were less violent than the preceding week while there was a drop in the number of terrorist attacks in all parts of the country except the capital. The contested city of […]
Several major multinational companies last week came to see the business opportunities in the Kurdistan Region as part of a British trade delegation. The trade mission was led by the Middle East Association (MEA), which is the UK’s leading organisation for UK-Middle East trade and has brought eight delegations to Kurdistan. Mr David Lloyd OBE, […]
Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Britain, said on Friday that the unrest in Iraqi Kurdistan would not affect British companies intending to invest in Kurdistan. Ms Rahman was accompanying a delegation of British businesses to the region, the ninth such group to visit. They have met with […]
The last three years have been “exceptional” for the Kurdistan Region in terms of discoveries of both oil and gas, Dr Ashti Hawrami, the Minister of Natural Resources, told an audience of diplomats and international oil companies in Erbil today. Dr Hawrami said that as a result of drilling activities from 2008 to 2010, the […]
Japanese auto-maker Nissan has opened its main sales office in Iraq in the capital of the Kurdistan Region, Erbil. Nissan becomes the second major Japanese car manufacturer to have an office in the Kurdish capital, after Toyota. Sardar Cars Group will be the sole agent for Nissan in Iraq which has based its office in […]
