Ali Abbas Iraqi Footballer

Ali Abbas - Dream come true for this Iraqi Footballer

 

Baghdad Invest - 28/09/2012 Baghdad.
An Iraqi refugee with a sweet left foot has completed a remarkable journey from the war-scarred streets of Baghdad to one of Australia's most glamorous football clubs.

 

Ali Abbas, a 25-year old midfielder was a member of Iraq's victorious Asian Cup squad that beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in July 2007.

 

Four months later he was to take a decision that was to change his life. He and two Iraqi teammates sought asylum in Australia following an Olympic games qualifier in the city of Gosford 75km north of Sydney.

 

"In 2007 it was a really bad situation in Iraq. We came here and played against the Olyroos. After we lost I decided to stay here to make my life better than in Iraq," Ali explained to the BBC.

 

"Like any sportsman, actor or doctor, I couldn't do my job properly because there were too many bad people there. It is not the Iraqi people, they come from outside of the country and that is why I saw my future here (in Australia)."

 

Ali was granted refugee status and has recently signed a contract with Sydney FC, former winners of the Australian A-League, which has previously boasted within its ranks former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke and Brazilian maestro Juninho.

 

"It was a hard decision to make (to leave Iraq) and look now I'm really happy and playing for a big club in Australia," he added.

'Massively appealing'

 

The former Iraqi international's footballing journey at the elite level in Australia began in the industrial city of Newcastle with the Jets in 2009. He has gone on to impress some of the sharpest minds in the game with his tenacity and skill.

 

The midfielder was the first signing for new Sydney FC coach Ian Crook. The Englishman says Ali Abbas' technical ability and desire to succeed will suit his team's up-tempo style.

"He is technically very good, he's got lovely technical ability and he can beat people in one on-ones and deliver killer passes," Mr Crook said.

 

"To go through what he put himself through to come here proves to me that he is hungry and desperately wants it. To me that is a massively appealing thing," added the former Spurs and Norwich City mid fielder.

 

Australia has offered sanctuary to waves of Iraqi refugees, but the transition to a new country and a very different culture is not always easy.

 

But Dr Mohamed Al Jabiri, a former Iraqi diplomat who went into exile in Australia after being imprisoned by Saddam Hussein, says Ali Abbas is a tremendous role model for other migrants.

 

"He is very easygoing, very humble. He is a good person from a good background. He has adapted to Australian society and I hope he will not forget he was part of Iraq," Dr Al Jabiri told the BBC at his home in Sydney.

 

"The Iraqis, my goodness, are so fond of soccer and they are so happy to see their players are achieving fame all over the world," he added.

 

Asked whether Abbas has the professional qualities to succeed at the highest level, Dr Al Jabiri, a keen follower of the English Premier League, declared: "I think he is like a fine racehorse ready to go the race."

 

Sydney FC's new Iraqi signing will make his debut for the Sky Blues against the Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand in early October.

 

Ali's journey took another significant step forward on Australia Day this year, when he became a citizen of his adopted country.

 

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Baghdad Invest - Thank You

Iraq Investment - Our Video

Baghdad Invest has decided to have a bit of fun. We have good reason to celebrate as we have just reached over 1,000 fans on Facebook and over 68,000 followers on Twitter. We wasn't too sure how to share our excitement

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Amanat Baghdad Clean Up Operation

Baghdad Invest - 05/09/2012 Baghdad.

Amanat Baghdad is planning to sign contracts with foreign companies for clean-up work in several neighbourhoods of the capital, officials said.
The move comes as part of a new strategy to privatise the cleaning sector.

According to Amanat media director Hakim Abdul Zahra, "This policy was adopted following the success of a pilot project with a Turkish company, which was awarded work cleaning up the neighbourhoods of Karrada and Rusafa."

In December 2010, Amanat Baghdad announced it signed a one-year, 31 billion dinar contract with the Turkish firm Akdeniz to clean the area extending from the University of Baghdad in Jadiriya through Karrada Dakhil, Karrada Kharij, Abu Nuas Street, Bab al-Sharqi, Palestine Street and up to Bab al-Muadham.

"The work was praised by several government bodies, such as the general secretariat of the council of ministers, the Baghdad Services Commission and residents who live in the areas that were cleaned," Abdul Zahra said, citing an Amanat survey on the company's performance.

"After evaluating the results of this project, the mayoralty found it necessary to continue to develop the initiative by providing the same opportunity for more foreign companies to compete to clean up larger areas of Baghdad," he added.

Officials invited a number of international companies to submit offers for clean-up work in Karkh and Rusafa municipalities, Abdul Zahra said, confirming that "several companies from Europe, the Emirates, Turkey and Jordan submitted bids."

"We are evaluating the offers and will choose the best one based upon the company's experience, reputation, its previous similar works and cost estimates of the work," he said. "When we are done with this phase, we will announce the winning bids."

Abdul Zahra said, "Privatisation in this sector will not mean the end of the municipal district clean-up services. Instead they will be sharing in the provision of these services [with public workers]."
"This step is also important for economic reasons, because the contracts make it conditional on companies to benefit from the local manpower and provide work for a big number of unemployed people," he said.

Privatisation to support municipalities

Meanwhile, Ghalib al-Zamily, deputy chairman of Baghdad provincial council's services commission, told Mawtani, "Privatisation will help us achieve progress in clean-up services in order to create a clean, civilised environment."

"We support the idea of allowing foreign investment companies not only to enter into this sector, but also to venture into other service sectors, such as water, sewage and roads," he added.
Al-Zamily said meetings were recently held with representatives from Italian, Swedish and German companies that specialise in clean-up services.

"These companies expressed eagerness to compete for available opportunities in the clean-up sector, and they presented us with numerous documents and pictures to show the clean-up projects they completed in several Arab countries," he said.

Wahda al-Jumaily, member of the parliament's services and reconstruction committee, emphasised the necessity of "attracting the investment companies that specialise in clean-up services to support the efforts of municipalities".

"It is also necessary to intensify the education process through media, seminars and posters to increase public awareness of cleanliness as a basic, civilised practice for a healthy environment," al-Jumaily said.

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Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi

Iraq's communications minister has resigned, accusing Prime Minister Nouri Maliki of refusing to stop "political interference" in his ministry.

Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, a member of the Sunni-backed Iraqiyya bloc, said he had submitted his resignation a month ago, but that it had only now been accepted.

There has been no word yet from the prime minister on the allegations.

Mr Allawi is thought to be the first member of the national unity government to resign since it was formed in 2010.

Last year, Electricity Minister Raad Shallal al-Ani, an independent who was nominated by Iraqiyya, was sacked after allegedly authorising £1.1bn ($1.7bn) of improper contracts for power stations with foreign companies.

Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi, Iraq's most senior Sunni Arab politician and a leading member of Iraqiyya, is meanwhile on trial in absentia, accused of financing a sectarian death squad targeting Shia officials.

'Conditions'

Mr Maliki's support of the prosecution led Iraqiyya to boycott cabinet meetings for more than a month, bringing the government to a standstill.

They accused the prime minister, who is a Shia, of trying to marginalise the country's minority Sunni community and cement his grip on power.

On Monday, Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi told the AFP news agency: "I required certain conditions from the prime minister, to stop the political interference in my ministry."

"Otherwise, I told him: 'I am not ready to work at the ministry with this big interference.'"

"I told him: 'Either you fulfil those conditions or accept my resignation.' He decided after one month to accept my resignation."

In separate development on Monday, security officials said gunmen had shot dead a senior army officer outside the capital, Baghdad.

Brig-Gen Abdul Muhsin Khazal was killed in the town of Taji. One report said the assailants used weapons with silencers.

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Double-Decker Red Bus in Baghdad

                                      

Common across Baghdad in years past, red double-decker buses are again plying the Iraqi capital's traffic-choked streets after many were ransacked in the years of unrest following the 2003 invasion.

The brand-new red buses with long white and black stripes on their sides began limited operations on Saturday, making halting progress amid masses of taxis and pedestrians in central Baghdad.

They have metal floors and plastic seats that are comfortable enough, though somewhat cramped for taller passengers. Air conditioning keeps the buses cool in spite of the Baghdad heat, which will only worsen in the summer months.

One bus was packed with boisterous Iraqis who were pleased by the features, especially the air conditioning.

"With this comfort, I will stay here enjoying the air conditioning and won't get off until the electricity generators start working in our area," joked Kadhim Karim, a 31-year-old musician.

"The new bus contains all the amenities, including air conditioning and cleanliness," said Kadhim Saba Rasan, 57, a government employee.

Only 70 buses have so far been bought from a Jordanian firm -- 60 double-deckers and 10 single-storey buses -- but 100 more are expected to be added later this year, said Adel al-Saadi, the director general of the state-owned firm responsible for public transport.

Even at its peak before the 2003 US-led invasion, the Baghdad bus network was a limited one. Its 300 buses at the time pale in comparison to the 8,500 that ply London's streets, according to the British capital's public transport authority.

This despite the fact that London's population of seven million is not vastly greater than Baghdad's six million residents.

The firm providing Baghdad with the buses, Jordan-based Elba House, first made its name constructing pre-fabricated buildings, but since 1992 has also built a variety of vehicles, including buses.

Each double-decker bus costs around $205,000.

Tickets for the buses are 500 Iraqi dinars, about 40 cents, offering a far more comfortable alternative to the cramped minibuses that criss-cross the city, and one that is cheaper than the fleets of mustard-yellow taxis.

"The new buses are very successful and better than taxis, which cost at least five or six thousand dinars ($4-$5)," said Mohammed Samir, an 18-year-old policeman.

Security remains a key priority in a city where brutal sectarian bloodshed killed countless residents, partitioned off key neighbourhoods and badly damaged Baghdad's infrastructure in the years following the invasion that ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.

The buses are equipped with cameras that allow the driver to monitor both floors of the interior, and Saadi said that each bus driver will work with an assistant whose role it will be to monitor the vehicle for signs of explosives and to search each passenger getting on the bus.

But while an assistant collecting fares was present on one of the buses, many passengers were not searched.

Samir, the policeman, said that he thought it would be better if they were searched.

Smoking, which is banned on the new buses, is another challenge -- one passenger lit up soon after sitting down on the upper deck of the bus, and the numerous cigarette butts in the trash bin indicated that he was not alone.

In the immediate aftermath of the US-led invasion of Iraq, while many people stayed at home and government buildings were all but shut, the red double-decker buses would still traverse the city from 7:00 am every day.

As worsening violence racked the city, many bus drivers transformed their vehicles into ad hoc taxis, ambulances and hearses. Over time, though, looting and pillaging across Baghdad eventually targeted the city's buses.

Rasan, who said he had ridden Baghdad's old double-decker buses and now on one of the new buses as well, described the style of bus as a fixture of the Iraqi capital.

"These buses are a beautiful means of transport and represent a part of the history of Baghdad," he said

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Najaf Investment Boom

Baghdad Invest - 08/05/2012 Baghdad.

With its sweeping highway, solar-powered street lights and plethora of hotels, the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf is a beacon for investment in Iraq, outshining other areas where projects have been slow to take off.

Virtually every economic sector in the country needs funding and attention to redevelop crumbling facilities that were neglected during decades of war and financial sanctions.

Foreign and local investors are eager to participate in rebuilding the country but complain that bureaucracy, a weak banking sector, poor legislation and a lack of land allocated for projects are huge deterrents.

Out of 780 investment licenses worth $32 billion granted to businessmen around the country since 2008, only about 30 percent of the projects have been started, according to Sami al-Araji, head of the National Investment Commission.

But the southern city of Najaf, the capital of a province with the same name, offers hope. Its success in pushing through projects suggests that with the right policies, obstacles can be overcome, and it may be an early sign of an investment boom in the country as a whole.

In fact, Najaf has become something of a model for other provinces; officials from elsewhere in Iraq look to it for guidance on issues such as how to allocate land for projects and how to work around the inefficiencies of the banking system.

Over 50 percent of about licensed 200 investment projects totaling $8 billion are under construction in Najaf province, with most development coming in the housing and tourism sectors, said Najaf Investment Commission chairman Wafy al-Bahash.

Home to the Imam Ali shrine, one of Shi'ite Muslims' most revered sites, Najaf city receives millions of pilgrims annually. The provincial investment commission has awarded 51 licenses for hotels alone to try to accommodate the influx of visitors.

Drive through the relatively clean city and you will spot boards hanging from lamp posts that read '2012 Al-Najaf: The capital of Islamic culture'. Towering cranes overshadow many streets and construction sites are filled with workers, in contrast to other provinces where half-finished buildings lie deserted.

One of the major projects in Najaf is a $25 million, five-star hotel being built by Iraqi firm Alkhawarnaq Palace. With 10 floors and a revolving restaurant at the top, the hotel is expected to be completed by the end of 2013. Construction started in April 2011.

A typical example of a Najaf project is a $7 million deal, funded by three local investors, to build 134 houses on the outskirts of the city. Construction started in April 2011 and is expected to be completed within another year. More than three-quarters of the units have been sold, and a family moved into the first house two months ago.

By comparison, in the neighboring province of Babil, infighting between officials has delayed development of at least one building for two years.

"The investor has been waiting for two years for a decision from two directorates in the same ministry. One is insisting on a two-floor building, while the other wants a single-storey building," said Alaa Ibrahim Harba, chairman of Babylon Investment Commission.

In the western province of Anbar, investors have been waiting since last year for approval to build a fertilizer factory worth $800 million.

"It was delayed because it was sent from the governate to the central government and it's taking a lot of time there for approval," Anbar investment commission head Amer Awadh told Reuters. "We have preliminary approval but not final approval."

"MINISTERS DON'T UNDERSTAND"

Iraq's economy is still very state-centric, and a weak credit culture has hampered development. Investors say a lack of laws and guarantees also makes working in the country, once a Middle Eastern breadbasket, extremely difficult.

At a recent investment conference in parliament attended by Araji and all of Iraq's provincial investment commission heads, officials openly admitted they needed to intensify efforts to improve the business environment.

A key problem is a backlog of projects awaiting approval from the central government. Provincial officials say they should be given more authority to work with investors.

Baghdad has awarded 70 licenses of which seven projects are in the works, documents showed. In Maysan, Wasit and Diyala, out of every 10 investment projects licensed in each province, work has started at only three or fewer.

"We should minimize the routine and bureaucracy in granting investment licenses," Awadh told the conference. "We are losing big opportunities to other countries because of these problems and many other issues."

Rising tensions within Iraq's fragile coalition government of Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds has hampered work and delayed approval of many laws, such as a long-anticipated hydrocarbons law which is crucial for the oil sector.

Policy-making is also paying the price of decades of economic isolation. Many officials are unused to moving at the speed demanded by foreign investors, and even when new legislation is passed, it can take months to be understood and implemented within the government.

Bahash says the key to Najaf's success has been close cooperation between the province's investment commission and the local governate, with officials taking the initiative to tackle problems rather than wait for a national directive.

"The governor and members of the provincial council are cooperating with us; they support our investment steps, and that has not happened in other provinces," Bahash said.

Razzaq Shareef, deputy governor of Najaf, said the province had seen so many projects take off because it had a strict policy that any investor granted a license had to pay 10 percent of the project's costs upfront as a guarantee that it would meet its commitments.

The rule has proved successful with both local and foreign investors, and is now being rolled out in other provinces following an order from the central government, Shareef said.

Iraq has a target under its five-year economic development plan of attracting $85 billion in investment by 2014. Luring pledges of that amount of money looks likely to be relatively easy; translating them into concrete projects on the ground may require educating many more government officials in Najaf's approach.

"The help from the central (government) is limited in this field," said Anbar investment commission head Awadh. "Some officials don't even understand the culture of investment. Even at the level of a minister."

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Central Bank of Iraq Construction

Baghdad Invest - 24/04/2012 Baghdad.

The central bank - Iraq, reconstruction has begun.

Noaman Muna returned to his native Iraq five decades after fleeing chaos and revolution in the 1950s.

"If I wasn't optimistic, I wouldn't have returned," says Mr Muna, who went back to Baghdad three years ago as a project manager to build the new headquarters of the Central Bank of Iraq after working at major architectural practices in London.

A decade after the United States war that ousted Saddam Hussein, plans are being drawn up to design a mega-city and urban planners and architects such as Mr Muna are at the vanguard.

Beyond the grey concrete walls and endless security checkpoints that pepper the city, cranes have been erected for the first time since 2003.

Bricks and building materials spill on to the streets, while hoardings show renderings of futuristic building projects that would rival any modern city.

"We haven't had a major development in Iraq for many years," Mr Muna says. "We had some infrastructure projects in the 1970s and '80s, monuments, but not functional buildings that serve the community. They are modest compared to what Iraq needs at the moment."

With more than 95,000 square metres of space on 40 floors, the proposed central bank will be the tallest building in the city and overlook the Tigris River from the fabled Abu Nawas Street, named after one the most revered classical Arabic poets who appears several times in the book of OneThousand and One Nights. The building is scheduled to be complete in 2016.

Designed by the Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid, the central bank building will attempt to mix and modernise features of the Sumerian Ziggurat and the Samarra - both renowned temples that are a part of Iraqi heritage.

The first is a steep pyramidic structure with a flat top similar in style to representations of the ancient Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The latter resembles a great stone helter-skelter atop an enormous plinth.

"It needed to be a unique and iconic building that represents a new emerging Iraq," Mr Muna says.

Set at the end of the Karrada district, the central bank is near an island lined with lush palm trees, opposite the green zone. The island was originally planned as a cultural centre that would have housed a giant opera house designed by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1950s, but scrapped after the socialist revolution that ousted the monarchy in 1958.

The island is known as Madinat Al A'aras, or "City of Weddings", as it was a prime location for luxury weddings in the 1980s. Suffering after years of war, sanctions and travel bans, newlywed Iraqis would honeymoon on this secluded tropical island, holidaying in chalets hidden among the palm trees.

Today, there are plans for the wedding island to be renovated as a leisure hotspot in the heart of the capital.

"We are inviting investors to help develop this land," says Osama Al Kaseer, an engineer consultant who was awarded a US$4 million (Dh14.6m) contract by the mayoralty of Baghdad to redevelop the master plan of the city. "It will have recreation: five-star hotels; tennis courts; cafes and casinos."

Mr Al Kaseer is the representative of a joint venture in Baghdad that comprises Khatib & Alami, a Lebanese architecture firm the main office of which is in Beirut; Pacific Consultants International, a Japanese construction company; and the Iraqi firm Medex.

Mr Al Kaseer faces a major task updating Baghdad's master plan to accommodate the current population of about 6 million, which is expected to double by 2030. The plan was last updated in 1972.

"We are thinking of accommodating some extra population into 'satellite cities' within a radius of 60km from the centre of Baghdad," he says. Urban planners are looking to Lebanon for inspiration as they rebuild Iraq after security improved following the sectarian conflict of 2006-2008. Beirut's reconstruction efforts after the civil war that took place from 1975 to 1990 attracted billions from foreign and local investors and re-established the capital's position as the "Paris of the Middle East".

"You have the Solidere area, which was completely ruined by the civil war," Mr Al Kaseer says. "Now it is really beautiful."

Baghdad's Rasheed Street, a bustling site of commercial activity during the Ottoman Empire, is now in a sad state with broken windows, graffiti and dilapidated porticoes housed by car repair shops and stores selling knick-knacks.

Architects involved in the restoration projects have drawn up the designs for the street modelled on Paris in 1916, as an Iraqi version of Beirut's Solidere district, filled with modern malls, cobbled walkways lined with shops, palm trees and fountains.

"Every Iraqi would agree for its restoration," says Caecilia Pieri, the head of the Urban Observatory at the IFPO Institute français du Proche-Orient based in Beirut and the author of Baghdad Arts Deco: Architectural Brickwork 1920-1950.

"It's where you had new shops from Europe in the 1920s, banks, and nearby in the cafes is where the artists, poets and singers would meet," she says.

"Rasheed Street really stood as the backbone for the urban middle class."

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Baghdad Shopping Mall

Baghdad Invest - 24/04/2012 Baghdad.

A new shopping mall in Baghdad provides for retail therapy needs.

Baghdadis who traditionally flocked to the old bazaars on the streets in the Karrada district will now have their very own shopping mall.

Construction of Baghdad Mall has started and the US$100 million (Dh367.3m) project in the affluent neighbourhood of Al Harthiya will include a shopping centre, a five-star hotel, a state-of-the-art medical centre, a gym and a giant covered parking lot.

The mall is expected to transform the shopping experience in Baghdad, said Haj Mohammed, one of the five private investors at Dar Al Sabah, an Iraq-based contracting firm that entered in a joint venture agreement with the Turkish contractor Tefirom to build the mall.

"In Iraq, retail shops have to manage with power cuts throughout the day, business has also been hurt because of the increased security crackdown, the checkpoints and difficulty with parking space has really lowered the amount of footfall you see in the commercial areas of the city," he says.

"In Iraq, if you just leave your car on the streets security officials would be suspicious that it has a bomb."

Many international retail shops, such as Mango and Zara, have entered the Iraqi Kurdistan region with the arrival of new shopping malls, drawn by the facilities and increased level of security that come with them.

Mr Mohammed expects to see the same level of interest from international brands in central Iraq when the mall is finished, which is due to be by the end of next year.

Baghdad Mall will have 16,000 square metres of leasable space.

"We have already received many inquiries from international shops that already have presence in Erbil, as well as from local shops, particularly jewellers, who would see the opportunity renting space here," Mr Mohammed says.

On completion, Dar Al Sabah expects to hire an international mall operator to manage the day-to-day requirements of the shopping centre and ensure that standards are similar to levels seen in the Gulf.

It will also invite an international hotel chain to manage the hotel.

Many foreign companies that have shown interest in expanding their operations into Baghdad have come across a range of difficulties, such as access to financing, dealing with rampant corruption, and restrictive regulations, Mr Mohammed says.

There are a range of foreign investment initiatives to rebuild the country that require the government to be a partner and this has been seen as a main reason for project delays and why foreign companies are still slow to enter the country.

"Baghdad Mall has been successful only because it was purely a private investor and private sector affair," Mr Mohammed says.

"Laws need to be updated. Right now, you have a liberal government that is open to foreign investment, but laws that date back to the socialist regime."

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Iraqi Dinar Sanctions

Baghdad Invest - 16/04/2012 Baghdad.
Iraq dinar hit by fallout from sanctions next door...........

At Alaa Radhi's currency exchange shop in central Baghdad, a board showing the rate of Iraqi dinars to the dollar has three question marks next to the price.
For weeks now, Iraqi businesses say they have been struggling as the dinar has become increasingly volatile due to fallout from sanctions imposed on neighbouring Iran and Syria and to Iraq's own political turmoil.

"The price keeps changing so quickly," Radhi says, counting a wad of dinars at the counter of his exchange. "That's why I can't write a fixed price."

The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) this month imposed new measures to curb demand for the dollar after a spike at its daily auctions as local traders bought greenbacks to sell them on to Iran and Syria.

In a bid to stem the flow of dollars from Iraq, the bank tightened regulations over who can participate in auctions and sent a message that it was still in control of the market by revaluing the auction price of the dinar slightly higher to 1,166 per dollar from 1,170.

Merchants participating in currency auctions are now required to be members of the Iraqi Chamber of Commerce, which means they have to register business more formally, and have to obtain licenses from the trade ministry.

But the bank's crackdown has pushed up the value of the U.S. currency in the local market, throttling local businesses who rely on dollars to purchase foreign imports.

"This the first time it has increased this much ... it definitely affects citizens because people deal in dollars," said civil servant Abu Mohammed, who sold $300 dollars at a rate of 1,280 dinars per dollar at an exchange shop.

He had bought dollars at a rate of 1,240 dinars per dollar less than a month ago.

Currency traders say the market is at a standstill.

"It's stagnated because people say they won't sell (the dollar) as it may keep increasing, while others say they won't buy it as the value may drop," Radhi said.

Iraq is recovering from decades of war and sanctions, and its economy is still very centralised, which is a chief complaint of foreign investors starting to do business in the OPEC nation. Oil accounts for 95 percent of government revenues.

With Iran and Syria under Western sanctions, Iraq is becoming an important source of dollars for them as residents and businesses in both countries seek hard currency to escape their weakening local money.

The central bank says Iraq's large foreign reserves, which have risen to a record $60 billion on the back of high oil prices, will shield its financial system from damage.

But it says its recent measures were needed to bring more discipline to the local market.

"We don't want currency going to finance terrorists, going to finance illegal (activities). We have to work carefully in this matter and move swiftly. We're under pressure," Mudher Kasim, a deputy central bank governor, told Reuters.

"We intervene in the market with this auction to stabilise the Iraqi dinar and to keep the exchange rate stable ... The main thing is to make the Iraqi dinar safe. That's a priority."

POLITICAL TENSIONS

Sinan al-Shibibi, Iraq's central bank governor, said at a conference with businessmen last week political infighting in Iraq's power-sharing government and a failure to develop the economy beyond the oil sector had aggravated the dinar's volatility.

Political tensions have been high since U.S. troops withdrew in December and after the Shi'ite-led government sought the arrest of Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi on charges he ran death squads and the removal of Sunni Deputy Premier Saleh al-Mutlaq.

Ties between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the north have also been strained over oil exports and the KRG's decision to let Hashemi take refuge in the autonomous region.

For traders, the new central bank requirements for the dollar purchases are hurting business.

They are required to produce legal documents and obtain clearance within 30 days in order to send money overseas to pay for imports. They also must produce a certificate from the country of origin of the goods, which has to be endorsed by the Iraqi consulate in that country.

Traders say these measures are time-consuming, and many have been forced to turn to the local market to source dollars at a higher price than the CBI to secure their goods overseas.

"I have needed to transfer money for the past four months in order to import goods, but I cannot cope with these new measures," said businessman Dawood Abed Zyer. "Who is going to cover the difference in price?"

Businessmen say the measures are unrealistic and should have been brought into the market gradually.

At least one Iraqi cabinet official agrees.

"These measures were too late and too sudden," cabinet secretary Ali al-Alaq told.


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Iraq Olympics London 2012

Baghdad Invest - 09/04/2012 Baghdad.

 

Documenting the Olympic Dreams of Iraq’s Rowers

Haider Nozad, an Iraqi oarsman, wants to go back to the Olympics.

Last time, in 2008, he and his rowing partner, Hamza Hussein Jebur, almost did not make it because of politics. This time, they may not qualify.

Mr. Nozad and Mr. Jebur failed to do so at the world championships last year. The rowers, who once trained on the brown waters of Baghdad’s Tigris River when it was a macabre dumping ground, will have another chance later this month at races in South Korea.

Tracking the improbable story of these rowers and a third, Ahmed Abdul Salam, as they work to make the 2012 Summer Olympics have been two French filmmakers, Anne-Sophie Le Mauff and Véronique Mauduy. In the last few days, the filmmakers have been releasing new episodes from their French-language production, “Bagdad Galère,” including one, above, filmed at a regatta in Baghdad last year.

The videos open a window onto the challenges still faced by Iraq’s athletes, even as years of war give way to a tense period of relative calm. According to The Associated Press, Iraq’s sports institutions are underfinanced, and their officials often stand accused of sectarian bias and corruption.

That background gives the short videos a feeling of “Cool Runnings” with a serious geopolitical edge.

In the past, Mr. Nozad bumped bodies with his oars as he trained up and down a constricted stretch of the river, so as not to pass to close to jittery guards around government buildings. Now, things are a little better. “The security is still difficult, but it is safer now to move than before and we get better results, because I train more,” he told The A.P. this year.

The French filmmakers, who are financing their project through a combination of small donations and corporate sponsorship, have drawn attention to their work in France, where several news organizations, including the magazine Nouvel Observateur and the news site Rue89, have been posting updates, as well as in Britain, where the 2012 Games will begin in a few months, and in the United States.

Members of the Iraqi team, along with the film crew, traveled to the United States to train in 2010. As Sports Illustrated wrote at the time:

The trip to the States came to fruition after Bill Engeman and Bruce Smith, two coaches on this side of the pond, traveled to Iraq to see the rowers there. Told that it would not be safe for them to conduct a clinic on the Tigris River, they instead went to a more remote training site in the Kurdish sector of the country on Lake Dokan that was considered more secure and less dangerous. On that trip, they arranged the Iraqis’ journey to Princeton. Smith, a coach from Boston-based Community Rowing, was among those on the trip. “I’m just a stupid rowing coach,” he says, “but when you consider what our servicemen and women are doing over there, the least we could do is show a fraction of the courage that they show every day in order to generate some goodwill.”

The trip attracted media attention, transforming the rowers into mini-celebrities and, in the process, turning off their Iraqi national rowing chief, Abdul Salam, who deemed all the coverage bad for training. (Mr. Salam is the father of Ahmed, one of the rowers being profiled by the filmmakers.)

Switching coaches may have had an effect on the athletes, but whether they qualify for the London Games this summer will ultimately depend on the athletes’ determination. Mr. Nozad recently started a family, and Mr. Jebur, at 35, is getting old to compete in the grueling sport.

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Iraq Neighbours

Arab Summit to be held in Baghdad next week (2012). (previous photo of an Arab Summit)

Baghdad Invest - 25/03/2012 Baghdad.

The Coming Out: Can Iraq Finally Make Friends With Its Neighbors?

Next week, the Arab League will hold its annual summit in Baghdad. It is a day a great many Iraqis have long awaited. For years, Iraqis hoped to host the Arab League in their liberated capital as a sign to the world that Iraq was back--that it had reemerged from Saddam Hussein's tyranny and a brutal civil war as a new Iraq, stronger, freer, and better than it had been. And for years, the other Arab states denied it. They cited the violence, ethno-sectarian divisions, unsettled politics and the American occupation. Now, finally, Baghdad will get its due.

For Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki it is a great triumph, a tremendous opportunity and a grave threat all rolled into one.

Although many Iraqis long for this sign of reacceptance into the Arab world, it is especially important for Maliki that he be able to say that he fulfilled the dream. Maliki, of course, is a Shia--and not just a Shia but also a member of a Shiite Islamist party who has been personally disdained and excoriated by the Sunni Arab world for most of his time in office. Indeed, for many years, most of the other Arab states refused to resume normal relations with Iraq explicitly because he was its prime minister. Thus, for Maliki, the Arab League's willingness to come to Iraq under his premiership is an immense personal victory, a signal to the Iraqi people that he, personally, has been accepted by the other (Sunni) Arab heads of state as the rightful and respected leader of Iraq.

As a result, it is all the more imperative for him that the summit go well, both for Iraq and for him personally. If it goes well, not only will he buttress his sagging popularity with the Iraqi street, he also will likely be able to parlay it into improved trade relations with the rest of the region, more direct foreign investment from the wealthy Gulf states and greater Arab diplomatic support for Iraq's international causes--particularly the lifting of the last UN sanctions under which Iraq has labored since the days of Saddam. If Maliki is truly accepted by the other members of the Arab League, it could mean significant material benefits for Iraq that would further reinforce his popularity and power.

The Syrian Problem

Unfortunately for Maliki, that coin has two sides, and on the ugly underside is the head of Bashar al-Assad. The crisis over Syria is coming at the worst possible time for Maliki. As a Shia Arab, he seems to have considerable affinity for the Shiite Arab regime of the Assads in Damascus. Moreover, although Maliki distrusts and dislikes the Iranians, he is in no position to cross them, and the Iranians have been backing the Assads to the hilt. Iran wields very significant influence in Iraq and ultimately was responsible (with some American assistance) for forging the coalition that kept Maliki in power after the 2010 elections. Whenever the Sunni Arab states ostracized his government, it was Tehran that succored it, and Maliki likely believes that when all else fails, he can count on the Iranians to help him in a way that the Sunni Arab states probably never will. Not surprisingly, Iraq has been extremely forgiving of Damascus's sins and consistently opposed harsh measures intended to bring about the Syrian regime's downfall.

The problem for Maliki is that the Sunni Arab states appear to be coming to Baghdad with squeezing Syria at the top of their agenda. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and other key Arab states are determined to forge agreement on tough new measures to loosen Assad's grip on power and bolster the Syrian resistance. They mean to do this both because it is an increasingly critical issue for all of them, playing equally to their external strategic goals and their internal political fears, and because they want to suss out Maliki himself.

In recent weeks, Maliki has been tacking hard on Syria. He has lowered his rhetorical support for Damascus. He even supported a new Arab League proposal to deploy Arab peacekeeping forces there. In addition, Maliki has been busily striking bilateral deals, making important concessions to various Sunni Arab states in the run-up to the summit to ensure that it is not cancelled at the last minute, that Arab heads of state attend, and that Iraq is accepted warmly back into the fold. All of this, but particularly Maliki's change of course on Syria, has made the Sunni Arab states willing to go ahead with the summit and toss him some other important bones. For instance, the Saudis finally named an ambassador to Baghdad.

Nevertheless, it seems clear that the Sunni Arab states are far from believing Maliki has actually changed his spots. Most believe he remains more committed to Iran and Syria than to the rest of the (Sunni) Arab world, and so they are likely to press the Syria issue and try to force Maliki to pick a side. They rightly see his dismissal of the charge that Iran is flying arms to Syria through Iraqi airspace as an effort to placate Iran and make up for his mildly more critical public stance on Syria. Thus, Maliki will have to walk a very narrow tightrope all through the summit to avoid being pushed by the Sunni Arab states or pulled by the Iranians to declare for one side or the other on this critical issue. In recent years, Maliki has shown himself to be a skillful political tactician, but appeasing both camps without alienating either will be quite a feat.

Many Potential Dangers

In Iraq, internal and external politics are deeply intertwined. Any problems created for Maliki at the Arab Summit will not remain confined to Iraq's international relations. They will quickly infect its fissiparous domestic politics and that will have very real consequences for Maliki.

If he resists Arab League action on Syria too much, Maliki will convince the Sunni Arab states that he was an Iranian agent all along, and they will almost certainly begin to ramp up their support for the Iraqi Sunni communities of Anbar, Salahaddin, Ninevah and Diyala seeking autonomous regional status--de facto independence--and willing to employ force against Maliki's central government to do it.

On the other hand, if Maliki is overly solicitous of the Sunni Arabs and goes along with new punitive measures against Syria, he could infuriate the Iranians, who can then press the Sadrists and a variety of Shiite terrorist groups to do the same in southern Iraq. The Iranians can also exert pressure on certain Kurdish factions to be less cooperative with Baghdad and can encourage Shiite separatists in Basra and other southern provinces to make more trouble for the prime minister.

In Iraq, there is never a dull moment. And watching Prime Minister Maliki walk the line at the Arab Summit might be, for a few days next week, the greatest show on earth.

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Arab Summit Baghdad 2012

Baghdad Invest - 12/03/2012 23:10 G.M.T Baghdad.

Iraq has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in a bid to ensure the upcoming Arab Summit in Baghdad on March 29 is a success but analysts believe their efforts may lead to naught.

“There won’t be any high-profile attendance at the Arab Summit in Baghdad,” said Ali al-Zakari, a UAE-based political analyst, citing division amid an Arab Spring-hit region as the reason.

“It is expected that no important decisions will be made towards countries like Syria or Somalia,” Zakari added.

Late February, the conference of “Friends of Syria” did not lead to any consensus among Arab countries; Tunisia pressed for stricter sanctions against the government of Bashar al-Assad but not for military intervention, while Gulf countries who support military intervention in Syria, seem to be leading calls for the arming of the Syrian opposition.

In Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has warned that toppling the Assad regime could result in the rise of Islamists in Syria, henceforth dire consequences to be expected in Iraq that is already suffering from al-Qaeda. Because Syria was expelled from most Arab nations, as well as suspended from the Arab League for its refusal to halt its crackdown on protestors, it was not invited to the Baghdad meet.

“The only way for the summit to be successful is if high-profile figures come together to send a strong message to Iran, but the current mood is not for escalation [of tension],” Zakari added.

On Wednesday, Iraq’s deputy foreign minister announced that that U.N. Secretary-General Ban-ki Moon will attend the upcoming summit, but analysts are skeptical about that.

“Attendance of Ban-ki moon or other representatives of certain organizations will be as mere observers.”

Meanwhile, a Jordan-based political analyst who wished to remain anonymous said that Baghdad’s announcement of Ban’s attendance is an attempt to show that the meet will have “international” attendance. The analyst said that with or without high-ranking officials’ attendance, Ban is there to make use of the event to talk about international issues related to Iraq such as Camp Ashraf, a camp that houses members of the anti-Iranian group, People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran.

Iraq’s deep division

Apart from the divisions with the Arab nations, Iraq’s political schism and Iran’s influence in its politics threaten to make the summit ineffective, said the Jordan-based analyst.

“If Iraqis do not reconcile, the representation of Arab states will be at a ministerial and ambassadorial level … and this depends wholeheartedly on Iraq,” he said.

The Gulf countries had, after all, demanded Iraq’s divisive factions to put their problems aside and work towards creating a solid national partnership government and oppose the one party domination that is Maliki’s State of Law coalition. Gulf States see Maliki’s coalition as an ally to Iran so they are hesitant to have its highest-ranks officials attend the summit unless Iraq fulfills the precondition of a partnership government, the analyst said.

Ground realities, however, show that the divisions run deep and pose incredible challenges to governance.

There was ambiguity on whether Maliki or the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani who, according to the country’s constitution, must represent Iraq at the upcoming summit.

Rumors that Talbani may not even be at the summit were rubbished by a source who told the London-based Asharq Alawsat newspaper that while the president is going to the U.S. for medical reasons, he is expected to return on March 12, rebuffing critics that there is an Iranian pressure to make the president hand over responsibility to Tehran’s ally Maliki to head the summit.

Other Iraqi factions also do not wish to see Maliki’s coalition succeed.

The secular yet Sunni-backed Iraqiya List headed by Ayad Allawi who is currently in Turkey, is lobbying against the summit. Iraqiya List says that Iraq is not ready to host the Arab Summit in Baghdad as the country’s politicians are divided and won’t represent the country under one voice which in turn will weaken the country’s position.

According to the Jordan-based analyst, Maliki’s making the summit successful will mean that his faction has won over against others and that an Iran-ally bloc has finally won the acceptance of the Arabs.

Another Jordan-based analyst, Ahmed al-Abyadh, said that a successful Arab Summit in Iraq should be seen as an achievement for all Iraqis, and Iraqiya is short-sighted in not wanting the summit to be an effective one.

Abyadh said the constant prodding by Gulf states demanding Iraq end its political division is an intervention into the country’s affairs.

Iraq, a founding member of the Arab League, has not hosted a regular Arab summit since November 1978, but an extraordinary summit was held in Baghdad in May 1990, just months before Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait.

Iraq which has spent at least $450 million in preparation for the summit that was supposed to be held on March 29 last year has recently received 400 Chevrolet armored vehicles to transport senior foreign officials. It has been criticized by sections of the public for wasting money that is badly needed to build the country’s infrastructure on a summit.

Iraq has also prepared itself diplomatically. Iraq and Saudi Arabia saw closer ties as the Kingdom named an ambassador to Iraq for the first time since Kuwait’s invasion. Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said that Iraq has also compensated Kuwait $4 billion in 2011.

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