By Soner Cagaptay, Selin Uysal, and Bilal Wahab, 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. The Iraq-Turkey Reset From water rights to PKK violence, a recent summit seemed to remove several long-festering thorns from the bilateral relationship, creating potential challenges and benefits alike for U.S. interests in Iraq and beyond. Click here to read the full report. The post The Iraq-Turkey Reset first appeared on Iraq Business News ..read more

From Amwaj Media. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. China dominates bidding for Iraqi energy as US firms stay out Held on the back of Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia' Al-Sudani's recent landmark visit to the US, a new round of bidding on oil and gas projects has notably seen the total absence of American oil majors. Instead, Chinese companies have reportedly been the only foreign actors to snap up contracts, dominating the licensing round. Moreover, as Baghdad pursues US-backed efforts to reduce reliance on ene ..read more

By John Lee. Brussels-based Education International has called for increased public investment in education in Iraq. The organisation, which says that it, "brings together organisations of teachers and other education employees from across the world", said: "Public education in Iraq is underfunded, with only 5.7 per cent of the government budget allocated to this sector. This lack of investment has resulted in overcrowded classrooms, unsafe school buildings, and insufficient educational resources. "Additionally, teachers in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have not been receiving their salaries re ..read more

By John Lee. Iraq's Ministry of Oil has announced finalised oil export volumes for April, but has not disclosed the value of oil exports for the month. This follows an increasing trend of delayed or missing oil export data from the Ministry. Total exports of crude oil: 102,386,818 barrels. Oil fields in central and southern Iraq accounted for 100,921,250 barrels of crude oil exports. Exports from Kirkuk through the port of Ceyhan have been suspended. Oil exports to Jordan by truck were 448,606 barrels. Exports from Qayyarah were 1,016,962 barrels. Average daily crude oil exports: 3.413 millli ..read more

By John Lee. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Labour Organization (ILO), and World Bank have issued a detailed report on the reform of Iraq's pension system. The report, titled "Towards an Inclusive, Equitable and Sustainable National Pension System in Iraq", highlighted the following key points: Importance of Pension Systems: Central to social protection. Ensures income security for older persons and vulnerable groups. Prevents poverty and reduces inequality. Facilitates consumption smoothing. Influences labor market choices and has fiscal implications. Current State of ..read more

By John Lee. Lieutenant General Lucas Schreurs of the Netherlands assumed command of NATO Mission Iraq on Friday (24 May 2024), at a change of command ceremony in Baghdad. He succeeds Lieutenant General José Antonio Agüero Martínez of Spain, who had been in post since May 2023. "It is an honour and privilege for the Netherlands and for me personally to take over command of the NATO Mission in Iraq," Lieutenant  General Schreurs said, adding: "The motto of the mission is 'building safety and security together' for a reason, and that is something we are going to continue, by enabling and en ..read more

From the Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC): Professor Frank Gunter launches a new white paper on de dollarisation of Iraqi economy Professor Frank Gunter publishes a new paper commissioned as part of a series by IBBC's advisory council on the challenges of de-dollarisation for Iraq. The Advisory Council members and IBBC members have actively contributed to the paper in the past 4 months. It will be presented online on the 18th June in a webinar and in person at the Spring Conference on 2nd July. The Arabic translation will be published soon. Register to join the webinar here. Previous advis ..read more

By John Lee. The Iraqi Cabinet has approved recommendations from the Ministry of Industry and Minerals (Industrial Development and Regulation Directorate) to impose an additional customs tariff of 50 percent on imported paper bags used for packaging cement. The new measure will come into force after 120 days, and run for four years, during which the effect on the local market will be monitored. Regulatory bodies will audit the effects of the additional tariff. The Ministry of Industry and Minerals will assess the increase in imports compared to the previous three years, and ensure that, "the c ..read more

By John Lee. The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has said it is prioritising the resumption of oil production in Iraqi Kurdistan, and the export of oil through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP), "in line with national interests". In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry said it has invited the Kurdistan Ministry of Natural Resources and international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the region to a meeting in Baghdad to discuss and reach an agreement. On Monday, the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) -- a trade body representing a group of IOCs operating in Iraqi Kurdistan -- hit b ..read more

By John Lee. Smart phone sales in Iraq have reportedly grown by 112 percent over the past year. According to research by Singapore-based analysts Canalys, the growth was driven by strong demand for sub-US$200 devices and Chinese vendors offering better color, material and finish (CMF) devices at affordable prices. (Source: Canalys) The post Iraqi Smart Phone Sales more than Double first appeared on Iraq Business News ..read more