By John Lee. The National Investment Commission (NIC) held an extensive meeting with KBR on March 4, 2025, to explore the development of Iraq's first blue ammonia plant in Basra. According to the UK's Royal Society, 'blue ammonia' is ammonia produced using 'blue hydrogen', i.e. hydrogen produced by steam methane reforming (SMR) where the carbon […]
By John Lee. US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz held a call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani on Sunday, reaffirming Washington's commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Baghdad. Mr. Waltz extended Ramadan greetings and expressed concern over recent flooding in Baghdad. Discussions focused on economic cooperation, with Prime Minister Al-Sudani outlining his government's […]
By David Schenker for The National Interest. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraqis Fear That Trump's America Will Depart Once and For All Baghdad has good reason to be concerned about the trajectory of the U.S.-Iraq relationship. Click here to read […]
By Michael Knights, for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Make Iraq Independent of Iranian Energy By letting previous waivers expire, the United States can help Baghdad establish other suppliers and stand on its own […]
By John Lee. The United States and Iraq have agreed on the need for Iraq to become energy independent, and to quickly reopen the Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline (ITP), which can transport oil from Northern Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. In an announcement following US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's call with […]
By John Lee. Iraq's Council of Ministers has approved the conversion of the Qayyarah [Qayara] Gas Power Plant from simple-cycle to combined-cycle operation. According to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office, the State Company for Northern Electricity Production has been authorised to award the contract to 'ARGAN INT', following the completion of procedural requirements. […]
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has concluded its first quarterly meetings of 2025 with the US Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank, held in Dubai, UAE, with participation from international auditing and consulting firms EY (Ernst & Young), K2 Integrity (K2i), and Oliver Wyman. Key highlights from the meetings included: […]
By Ben Fishman, for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Trump's Foreign Assistance Review Prioritizes Funding Over Policy The U.S. government has demonstrated a long-term interest in supporting the Iraqi security forces, investing $1.25 billion […]
By John Lee. The Washington DC-based Institute for Financial Integrity (IFI) has announced the launch of the Financial Integrity and Cross-Border Payments Training Program for the National Bank of Iraq (NBI), developed in partnership with the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) and K2 Integrity. According to a press release from IFI, this groundbreaking initiative aims […]
By John Lee. A leading Iraqi economist has predicted that US President Donald Trump's pressure to reduce oil prices will harm the Iraqi economy, and could lead to a devaluation of the Iraqi dinar. In a post on Facebook, Dr Nabil Jaafar Al-Marsoumi, former Professor of Economics at Basra University, and member of the Advisory […]
By John Lee. US engineering firm KBR has secured a $187 million order from the U.S. Department of State to provide medical support services in Iraq under the Diplomatic Platform Support Services (DiPSS) contract. The five-year Medical Support Services Iraq (MedSSI) task order will run through 2029. Under the contract, KBR will operate a Diplomatic […]
By John Lee. Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani met with Steve Lutes, Vice President of Middle East Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and President of the U.S.-Iraq Business Council, to discuss Iraq-U.S. commercial relations. The talks focused on preparations for a forum of U.S. company representatives in Iraq and the progress on implementing […]
