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EU Steps Up Assistance for Stabilisation of Iraq

The European Commission has adopted a €60.4 million stabilisation package to support Iraq after the liberation of areas held by Da’esh, with the country still facing humanitarian, security, stabilisation and reconciliation challenges.

This new funding comes in addition to EU humanitarian aid in the country and other forms of financial assistance that now total €608.4 million since the beginning of the crisis.

High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini (pictured) said:

“At this important juncture in Iraq history, we stand at the side of the Iraqi people and authorities who have shown courage and resilience in their fight against Da’esh. Today more than ever, the EU is present to assist them in building their post-Da’esh future.

“We are and will continue to be active on the political, humanitarian, security and development sides to help stabilising the liberated areas. This is a pre-condition for reconciliation, for the return of the many internally displaced who are eager to come back and for the longer term stability in Iraq.”

Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica said:

“The liberation of Mosul and other areas previously occupied by Da’esh is a first step towards peace. The EU has been supporting the needs of millions of Iraqis and will not stop there. They can also count on EU assistance for the further stabilisation and development efforts of their country.”

The stabilisation package includes €50.4 million help to restore basic services, repair essential public infrastructure, as well as to reactivate economic activity through grants to small businesses. This will be done through the UNDP Funding Facility for Stabilisation, which is working in newly retaken areas in Anbar, Salah al-Din, Kirkuk, Ninewah and Diyala Governorates. Thanks to more than 1,200 projects, over 2.2 million people have been able to return to their homes.

A further €10 million will continue to facilitate the clearance of lands previously contaminated by explosives, by supporting the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS). This will also help creating the conditions for a safe, voluntary and dignified return of more than 3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs).

In the past year and a half, with the EU playing a key role in coordination, UNMAS has surveyed and cleared more than 1.8 million m² of land in and around Fallujah and around 160 thousand m² in al Anbar Province.

(Source: European Commission)

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IBBC Autumn Conference 2017: ‘Together We Build Iraq’

IBBC Autumn Conference 2017: ‘Together We Build Iraq’
12 November 2017, The Address Dubai Marina, Dubai

The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) is pleased to invite you to the IBBC Autumn Conference at The Address Hotel Dubai Marina, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday 12 November 2017.

This years’ event follows IBBC’s successful inaugural conference of 2016 held in the UAE, a hub for global and regional companies that operate in the Middle East.

The theme of this year’s Autumn Conference is ‘Together We Build Iraq’ and will focus predominantly on the ongoing effects and needs of Iraq’s reconstruction and the opportunities of investment available to British and International companies during this process. There will also be panels discussing the Power and Oil & Gas sectors.

The five conference sessions will focus on:

  • Strengths and Weaknesses of the Economy in Iraq
  • Reconstruction and Infrastructure – The Built Environment
  • Enabling Reconstruction
  • Power
  • Oil & Gas

The IBBC Autumn Conference 2017 will be chaired by Vikas Handa, IBBC UAE Representative and will be led by the following confirmed speakers:

  • Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Iraq, Azerbaijan & Turkmenistan and President of IBBC
  • H.E. Mr Qasim Al-Fahdawi, Minister of Electricity
  • H.E. Mr Kadhim Finjan Al Hamimi, Minister of Transport
  • H.E. Mrs Ann Nafi Aussi Balbool, Minister of Construction, Housing and Public Municipalities
  • H.E. Dr Sami Al Araji, Chairman of the National Investment Commission
  • Marwa Alnasaa, Resident Representative for Iraq, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  • Dr Jaafar Dhia Jaafar, CEO, URUK Engineering
  • Zaid Elyaseri, Iraq Country Manager, BP
  • Peter Mohring, Managing Director – Aviation & Defence, Serco
  • Zeeshan A. Sheikh, EMENA Infrastructure & Natural Resources, International Finance Corporation
  • Suha AlKifaee, Managing Director, IIB
  • Zaid Al-Ansari, Executive Country Manager-Iraq, GE
  • Tarek Hamade, Environment & Infrastructure lead for the Middle East, Amec Foster Wheeler
  • Tawfiq Tabbaa, Managing Partner – Iraq, Eversheds Sutherland
  • Salem Chalabi, Partner, Stephenson Harwood Middle East LLP
  • Nikolay Dimitrov, Business Development Manager (Middle East and Africa), KCA Deutag
  • Anne Kerr, Global Head – Urbanisation, Mott MacDonald
  • Iain Rawlinson, Group Commercial Director, Gulftainer
  • Phill Sherwood, Executive Director, AMAR International Charitable Foundation
  • Danielle Montgomery, Managing Director, Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, OPIC

A pre-conference reception and networking event will be held on Saturday 11 November at 18:00 at the Address Dubai Marina.

IBBC warmly thanks the International Islamic Bank, which has generously agreed to be the event’s Gold Sponsor, in addition to Silver sponsors Serco & Gulftainer. Completing the sponsorship line-up are Amec Foster Wheeler, which will serve as the Reception sponsor, and Coffee Break Sponsors KCA Deutag & Eversheds Sutherland.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Please email london@webuildiraq.org for details.

Registration is now open. The registration fee for non-members is £700. IBBC members and members of partner organisations are entitled to special discounted rates. To request the discount codes or if you need assistance, please email the team at london@webuildiraq.org or phone +44 (0) 20 7222 7100.

The IBBC team looks forward to seeing you in Dubai for the Autumn Conference.

Download the latest Agenda Here.

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Stabilization in Mosul: 300 Projects Underway

Stabilization in Mosul: 300 projects underway and 10,000 people put to work

Three years of ISIL occupation and fierce fighting to retake the Mosul caused widespread destruction.

In 10 months, nearly one million Iraqis fled the city. 700,000 are still displaced. Mosul is one of the largest stabilization challenges the people of Iraq and the UN have ever faced. US$700 million is needed for West Mosul alone.

At the request of the Prime Minister of Iraq, UNDP established the Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS) in June 2015 to help rapidly stabilize newly retaken areas.

Iraq and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are changing the way stabilization is done. Iraqi officials assess what needs to be done. They ask UNDP, and UNDP responds.

More than 1,100 projects are underway in 23 cities, restoring water and electricity, repairing schools, hospitals, and transport networks, and putting tens of thousands of people back to work. 95% of all stabilization work is contracted through the local private sector.

Local companies are rebuilding their own cities employing local labour. Stabilization is about speed and functionality.

The top priority now is Mosul. 300 projects are already underway, many started even as the fighting was continuing. 10,000 people of Mosul are working on stabilization, so that residents can return home safely, with dignity, and build back their cities.

Increased stability in Iraq can lay the foundations for longer term reconciliation and generate much-needed hope for the millions of Iraqis affected by this conflict.

(Source: UNDP in Iraq)

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Interview with Ali Fares: Overview of the Opportunities

Ahead of the international Basra Oil, Gas & Infrastructure 2017 Conference which CWC Group hosts annually with the Basra Governorate, the Basra Council and the Basra Oil Company, Nawar Abdulhadi, MENA Director for CWC Group interviewed Mr Ali Shadad Al Fares, Chairman of the Oil & Gas Committee at the Basra Council.

Mr Ali Fares highlights the importance of the Conference for the province this year as well as for the rest of Iraq as Basra moves towards expanding to accommodate the upcoming projects in the new era focusing on rebuilding Iraq.

Mr Al Fares touched upon the oil, gas, petrochemicals and power projects, the infrastructure and constructions projects as well as the transportation and logistics projects which will be addressed at the international conference in Beirut between the 30-31st of October.

Nawar Abdulhadi: What are the current opportunities for companies investing in oil and gas in Basra?

Mr Al Fares: There are many opportunities, which are the focus of the local government of Basra and the Federal Oil Ministry. I would like to highlight the following:

  1. Strategic Sea Water Project to supply the fields for water injection.
  2. Aqaba pipeline project, which extends from Rumaila field to Najaf Governorate.
  3. Investment project in the gas fields with a new economic model (Nahran Omar, national fields, the exploitation of gas flared in the fields of other remaining licensing rounds)
  4. Investment in non-invested oil fields that are managed through the small and medium national effort.
  5. The joint fields with the Iranian side and the Kuwaiti side.
  6. There are different projects within which the size of investment is very important as they must be within the contracts of the licensing rounds, such as digging new wells and the maintenance of the old and the infrastructure of the oil and gas sector.
  7. The Muftiyah tourist project in Basra, located on the Shatt al-Arab, using the private investment model .
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France Contributes $1m to Resilience in Iraq

France contributes US$980,600 to resilience in Iraq

The Government of France has contributed US$980,600 (€833,500) to UNDP’s Iraq Crisis Response and Resilience Programme (ICRRP) to promote recovery and resilience-building in areas liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis fled the ISIL takeover of the Ninewah Plains in 2014. Most have yet to return. Families from these areas, particularly Karemles, Hamdaniya (Qaraqosh), and Bartella, face multiple challenges due to the destruction caused by ISIL, including a lack of job opportunities, the disruption of basic services, and heavily damaged housing.

France’s contribution to ICRRP will help restore livelihoods and facilitate the return of internally displaced people from the Ninewah Plains, including vulnerable minority communities, through housing rehabilitation and the provision of grants to small businesses. The project will be implemented by two non-governmental organizations, L’Oeuvre d’Orient and Fraternite’ en Irak.

UNDP’s Resident Representative for Iraq, Ms. Lise Grande, said:

“These communities have been through so much. France’s contribution comes at just the right time to help families return home safely, voluntarily and in dignity.”

The French Ambassador to Iraq, Mr. Bruno Aubert, said:

“This integrated project will allow these communities to benefit again from basic services, and help them engage in local economic activities that produce income for their families.”

UNDP’s ICRRP provides fast-track support to vulnerable families in newly liberated cities and villages where social tensions threaten community cohesion.

ICRRP is designed as a resilience and recovery programme to help families withstand the multi-dimensional shocks associated with post-liberation and large-scale returns.

(Source: UNDP in Iraq)

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Germany Increases Aid for Mosul by $117m

Germany has announced an additional $117 million (100 million Euros) in aid to help rebuild the city of Mosul following its liberation from IS; much of the city is in ruins after months of fighting between government forces and IS for control of the city.

The German government has stated that it will massively step up its financial aid to Mosul after its liberation from the IS, who held the city for three years.

German Development Minister, Gerd Mueller (pictured), announced the additional funding in an interview on July 25, which also reported that Germany had up to now invested some $60 million in stabilizing areas around Mosul and its outlying areas.

Mueller said that German support had already enabled more than 60,000 children in Mosul to go to school again and provided 150,000 people with access to vital drinking water.

Most people who had fled from IS have remained in the region and want to return to the city, according to Mueller, who has recently visited a refugee camp in the area.

(Source: GardaWorld)