The latest news from Kurdistan – security updates, reconstruction and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News.
The Kurdistan Region’s Minister for Commerce and Industry has said that a new Turkish- Iraqi border crossing point is needed to reduce the traffic at the Ibrahim Khalil [Ibrahim al Khalil] gate, according to AKnews. The Ibrahim Khalil crossing (pictured) is the only official route connecting the Kurdistan Region to Turkey, and hundreds of trucks […]
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) last week inaugurated a new representation office in Spain. Mr Daban Shadala, the KRG’s Representative, hosted the inauguration at the new office in central Madrid. Mr Shadala welcomed guests including Dr Ziyad Khalid, Iraq’s Ambassador to Spain, Spain’s Honorary Consul in the Kurdistan Region, representatives from the autonomous regions of […]
The first of three new refineries in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan is expected to start selling petrol for the first time next week. The 98-octane gasoline will be sold to petrol stations in the semi-autonomous region, Ali Hussein Ballo, a consultant at the natural resources ministry said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg. The Khabat refinery, […]
North Last week saw violence concentrated in Mosul, although attacks were also recorded in Tal ‘Afar, Kirkuk, Hawijah and Riyadh. Civilians and the Iraqi security forces bore the brunt, but with eight recorded fatalities the week was less bloody than normal for what is otherwise one of the most hostile parts of the country. In […]
The dispute between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over the legitimacy of international oil contracts signed by the Kurds appears to be over. Baghdad’s dispute with Kurdistan froze oil exports from the region last year. Asked if the dispute between the two Iraqi powers had been resolved, Iraqi Oil Minister, Hussain al-Shahristani, told […]
The Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) has announced that it is to open a representative office in Austria. A KRG official said that the Prime Minister, Dr. Barham Saleh, signed an official document to assign Mustafa R. Koran as the representative in the office. He added that steps will continue to open more offices in other […]
According to a report from Reuters, Spain's Repsol is the latest large international oil company (IOC) to consider potential investments in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq. Repsol's move, which risks it being blacklisted from investment in the rest of Iraq, follows recent investments in Kurdistan by U.S.-based Marathon Oil and Murphy Oil. Repsol has […]
The Minister for Natural Resources in the Kurdistan Regional Government, Ashti Hawrami, told Reuters that he expected talks in Baghdad on the formation of a new government to lead to an imminent breakthrough on the issue of oil exports from Kurdistan. “I am confident that the leadership between Kurdistan and Baghdad will address these issues […]
President Masoud Barzani met Britain’s Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt and his delegation, which included British Ambassador to Iraq John Jenkins and British Consul General to Erbil Chris Bowers. Mr Burt informed the President that his government will upgrade the current UK Embassy Office in Erbil to a full consulate general, […]
A trade delegation from Iceland has arrived in the Kurdistan Region to hold talks with regional officials, seeking business opportunities and to strengthen bilateral relations, according to a report from AKnews. The delegation includes some Icelandic companies invited by a delegation of the region’s Kurdistan Exports and Imports Union (KEIU) in September, when they visited Iceland […]
Rashid Mohamed Rashid, Egypt's Trade and Industry Minister, is to head a delegation of investors on a visit to Iraqi Kurdistan, to consider the possibility of establishing projects in industry, tourism, energy, housing and infrastructure in the Kurdistan provinces. Egypt is encouraging the private sector to go to Iraqi Kurdistan as part of the support […]
An official from the Kurdistan Exporters and Importers Union said on Tuesday that three Romanian companies will open offices in the Kurdistan Region next week. The offices will be their only representation across Iraq and the Middle East. Bakhtyar Ahmed, the media secretary for the union, told AKnews the offices will be opened in Sulaimaniya […]
