By John Lee. Iraq has reportedly surprised traders in Asia with a sharp increase in the price of its new Basrah Heavy crude grade. Despite the grade selling at a sharp discount in the spot market last month, the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) raised the Official Selling Price (OSP) for Basrah Heavy by 85 […]
By John Lee. Saudi Arabia has named its first resident ambassador to Iraq since 1991. Thamer bin Sabhan Al-Sabhan took the oath of office on Tuesday before Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Sabhan was previously the military attaché in the Saudi Embassy in Lebanon. (Sources: Al Arabiya News, Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry) (Diplomatic […]
Over 500 families have moved into the newly opened Shekhan camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in northern Iraq over the past week and hundreds more will move in in the coming days. The camp has been constructed by a consortium of humanitarian partners with the support of multiple donors and will eventually provide shelter […]
By Mohammed A. Salih for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. As a coalition of Sunni Arab states led by Saudi Arabia targets Shiite Houthi forces and their allies in Yemen, Iraqi Kurds are watching with concern and caution, wondering how […]
UNESCO and its partners celebrated with students and teachers the opening of the newly constructed Migrant Birds Intermediate School for internally displaced persons at Al-Souq Al Asry Camp in Basrah, Iraq. The opening of the school in Al Souq Al Asry camp shortly follows the opening of the Baharka Secondary School and the Dawodiyah Secondary […]
By Mustafa al-Kadhimi for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. It appears that neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia, the two rival parties to the proxy and direct wars in the Middle East, was satisfied with the signals sent by Iraqi Prime […]
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is investing up to $18 million in Saudi dairy company Al Safi Danone’s Iraq-based subsidiary, to expand its operations in order to improve domestic food security, boost Iraq’s non-oil sector, and reduce its reliance on imported dairy products. IFC’s long-term investment, which is […]
By Adnan Abu Zeed for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen has stirred the Iraqi sectarian divide. While the Shiite majority opposes the campaign, the Sunnis are voicing support for it. These differing positions, expressed for the Shiites by the […]
By John Lee. The Saudi Foreign Minister, Saud al-Faisal (pictured), has told reporters in Riyadh that “Iran is taking over Iraq.” The comments were made during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry, in which Kerry said the United States was keeping an eye on Iran's 'destabilizing' acts, adding that his country […]
A high ranking delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, headed by Mr. Abdul-Rahman al-Shahri, visited Kurdistan Region to prepare the opening of the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Erbil in a near future. In a meeting held yesterday with the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, Mr. al-Shahri stated […]
By Patrick Schmidt. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recently announced a plan to build a 600-mile “Great Wall” along its border with Iraq. The announcement follows continued violence in Iraq as the Islamic State (IS) still controls vast swaths of the country. The plan had previously been discussed in Saudi Arabia as early as 2006, […]
By John Lee. Following the strengthening of relations between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and the planned reopening of the Saudi embassy in Baghdad next week, there is now a real possibility that the oil pipeline between the two countries could be reinstated. Saudi Arabia closed its embassy in Baghdad following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in […]
