By Padraig O'Hannelly. Our friend and former contributor Robert Tollast has been touring Iraq's religious and archeological sites. Writing in Middle East Eye, he says: "Iraq still gives visitors a sense of having a private viewing of some of the world's wonders, such as the 4,000-year-old ruins of Babylon, and the awe-inspiring Holy Shrines of […]
Tag Archives | Robert Tollast
Iraq's 2019 Draft Budget Analysis
The Iraq Energy Institute has just published a new report by Robert Tollast, Yesar Al-Maleki and Harry Istepanian on reform of public financial management in Iraq: Iraq’s first draft budget for 2019 shows an overall increase in spending of 23% compared to 2018. Oil revenues still dominate sources of revenue, projected at 89% of government finances. […]
Keeping the Lights on in Baghdad: An Interview with Harry Istepanian
By Bob Tollast. This article constitutes an introduction on the recent history of Iraq’s electricity sector followed by a Q and A with Mr. Istepanian. As Iraq endures the most serious terrorist offensive since 2004, what is certain is that this year a separate fight will continue to improve services, also crucial to the legitimacy […]
Private Security Companies in Iraq
By Robert Tollast. Robert Tollast is a consultant at Noorbridge, a Helsinki based consultancy with staff in London and Nasiriyah, Iraq. He has written extensively on security, politics and economic issues in Iraq for various publications, and is currently researching a modern history of Iraq with support from The Middle East Forum. email: bobtollast@gmail.com twitter: […]
Basra’s Next Battle: Defeating Corruption and Bureaucracy
By Robert Tollast. Robert Tollast is a consultant at Noorbridge, a Helsinki based consultancy with staff in London and Nasiriyah, Iraq. He has written extensively on security, politics and economic issues in Iraq for various publications, and is currently researching a modern history of Iraq with support from The Middle East Forum. email: bobtollast@gmail.com twitter: […]
Tags: Basra News, Robert Tollast
From Reconstruction to Building the Future
By Robert Tollast. For a new series for Iraq Business News, I will be interviewing Iraqi and foreign professionals and asking them about their experiences working in Iraq. For the first edition I spoke with Hameed Abid, an architect who has worked on some 600 projects in Europe and the MENA region. Hameed’s first project […]