[Published here December 17, 2020]
A year of economic agony for pandemic-hit and oil-reliant Iraq is drawing to a close, but a draft 2021 budget involving a hefty currency devaluation could bring more pain for citizens.
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Without urgent reform, Iraq economy will face irreparable shocks: minister to AFP
[Published here on June 22, 2020]
Baghdad (AFP) – Iraq’s economy could reach irreversible lows within the next year unless urgent reform measures are adopted, its finance minister warned in an exclusive interview with AFP on Monday.
As prices fall, what are the threats to oil giant Iraq? | AFP
[Published here on April 2, 2020]
Baghdad (AFP) – As crude prices plunge, Iraq’s oil sector is facing a triple threat that has slashed revenues, risks denting production and may spell trouble for future exports.
Iraq faces financial calamity after crude crash | AFP
[Published here March 19, 2020]
Baghdad (AFP) – Between plummeting oil prices, political deadlock and reduced global appetite for a bail-out, Iraq is on the cusp of financial calamity that could force austerity measures and renew anti-government protests.
Could Baghdad-Erbil talks end Iraq’s protracted oil dispute?
[Published here on July 29, 2019]
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s federal authorities and the cash-strapped Kurdish regional government have relaunched talks over longstanding oil and budget disputes, but observers are skeptical they will reach a genuine diplomatic reset. Here are a few questions and answers to clarify the complex issue.
Men still missing, Yazidi women stitch together incomes after IS | AFP
[Published here July 14, 2019]
On the floor of her stuffy, dimly-lit tent in Iraq, Yazidi survivor Layleh Shemmo nimbly tugs floral pink fabric through her sewing machine, stitching together a living for her broken family.
Erbil: A Clearer Vision | Executive Magazine
[Published here on November 3, 2014]
In recent years, a hard earned record for security and stability had gained the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq a reputation as a booming business center. Headlines splashed across magazines and newspapers comparing the growth of Erbil, the Kurdish region’s capital, to Dubai’s meteoric expansion. However, the summer of 2014 challenged that idea as a new phase of turbulence gripped the whole country. The onslaught of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants, who have taken control of large swathes of the country and carved a bloody path towards Erbil and Baghdad, was a stark reminder to all that Kurdistan is not immune to trouble in the neighborhood. But like the glittering hyperbole surrounding the rise of Erbil, the doom and gloom painted since the rise of ISIS may also be overstated. The situation is far from stable, but investors, analysts and business people focusing on the area say it won’t push them out, and it certainly won’t derail Kurdish development.
MAYA GEBEILY 