By John Lee. Iraq's Ministry of Planning has held a meeting with representatives of the World Bank to discuss cooperation on supporting entrepreneurship, empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and creating a more efficient and attractive business environment for investment. According to a statement from the Ministry, Sunday's meeting discussed a proposed programme aimed at […]
By John Lee. Real GDP in Iraq is expected to fall by 8.9 percent this year, according to the World Bank's latest Global Economic Prospects report. This represents a significant reduction on the previous forecast of 4.4 percent growth, issued one year ago. The report says: "The sharp slowdowns projected for Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar will be […]
By John Lee. According to Jordan's state-run Petra news agency, financial and banking experts and representatives of international financial institutions convened on the sidelines of the 2026 Franchise and Trade Agencies Exhibition in Amman to discuss expanding economic cooperation between Jordan and Iraq. The dialogue session, titled "Financing Mechanisms, Banking Facilities and the Role of […]
By John Lee. The World Bank has approved a $900 million financing package to rehabilitate and expand key road corridors in Iraq, with the aim of improving domestic mobility, regional integration, and job creation. The Board of Executive Directors approved the Iraq Transport Economic Corridors (ITREC) project on Thursday. According to the World Bank, the […]
From UNICEF. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Launch of Inclusive Social Safety Net pilot in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Under the leadership of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Kurdistan Regional of Government, UNHCR, UNICEF and the […]
By John Lee. The World Bank has imposed a sanction of debarment with conditional release on the Turkish company Aktif Elektroteknik San ve Tic A.S. following findings of corrupt and fraudulent practices in Iraq. It said the company has been debarred for a minimum period of one year and three months. The firm may only be […]
By John Lee. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is investing in Aloreen Company for Investments Limited to finance new port equipment and expand capacity at Umm Qasr, Iraq's only deep-water port. The financing package will support the procurement of: Four ship-to-shore cranes; Ten rubber-tyred gantry cranes. The investment […]
By John Lee. Discussions have been held on economic reforms and support for development projects in Iraq. The meeting took place between Minister of Finance Taif Sami Mohammed and a delegation from the World Bank, focusing on cooperation to support the government's reform programme and expand major development projects nationwide. Key points discussed included: Improving […]
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has published its National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2025-2029. The document was officially launched in May. Click here to download the full report [Arabic]. To browse our comprehensive library of reports on Iraq, click here. (Source: CBI)
By John Lee. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Wednesday oversaw the signing ceremony for awarding the redevelopment and expansion project of Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) to the winning consortium, CAAP, led by Corporación América Airports (Luxembourg, Argentina) in partnership with Iraq's Amwaj International. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group served […]
By John Lee. Iraq's Minister of Finance, Taif Sami Mohammed, along with the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) and their accompanying delegation, participated in the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), held in Washington from 13th to 18th October 2025. The meetings focused on […]
By John Lee. The World Bank projects Iraq's economy will shrink by 0.9 percent in 2025, marking a downgrade of 2.3 percentage points from the April forecast. The contraction is mainly attributed to reductions in oil output as Iraq adjusts production to align with OPEC+ commitments. However, economic growth is expected to rebound strongly to […]
