Thread: Iraq/Dinar News. 09/05 to 01/14/07

Iraq : Australian companies seeking to implement the strategic urban projects in Iraq

Baghdad Najla Al-Khalidi Many expressed desire of Australian companies to implement strategic outlook and architectural projects in Iraq, especially in the field of international road link between Iraq, Iran and Turkey. Her statement Dizah Yi and Minister of Construction and Housing for the "morning" Following her meeting with Mark Brown Anns Australian Ambassador in Baghdad, we on the verge of great strategic and upswing, particularly after the issuance of the Investment Law, which we seek to implement projects in the area of housing, roads, bridges and buildings. She pointed out that the assessments of the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry Atlbi ambition to seek through law to the new building (3) million housing units through the housing project, which includes fast on the four segments of the marginalized segments of the staff with limited income and families of the martyrs, immigrants, prisoners. For his part, Australian Ambassador expressed readiness of his country implementation of any projects assigned to them and in particular to the Ministry ways large projects including the establishment of road link between Iraq, Iran and Turkey as well as the implementation of strategic projects and the upswing in Iraq Mukda support of the government of his country to the Iraqi government in all fields.

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MENAFN - Middle East North Africa . Financial Network News: Kuwait receives $11.2 billion from Iraq as war reparations

Kuwait receives $11.2 billion from Iraq as war reparations

MENAFN - 09/10/2006

(MENAFN) Kuwaiti officials revealed that Iraq has awarded nearly $11.2 billion to Kuwait as war reparations for the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in the early nineties of the last century, Trade Arabia reported.

Kuwait's compensation authority stated that the UN Compensation Commission had so far approved $41.3 billion in war reparations for the country.

It's worth mentioning that Kuwait has filed compensation claims at cost of $178 billion to the UNCC, set up by the UN Security Council after the old regime's forces occupied Kuwait in 1990 before being ousted by a US-led coalition seven months later.

According to the report, most of the claims were filed for damages in the oil sector, the lifeline of the Gulf state, and the environment.

Khaleej Times Online - Australia to urge Bush to stay the course in Iraq

Australia to urge Bush to stay the course in Iraq
(Reuters)

9 November 2006



CANBERRA - Australia will urge US President George W. Bush to maintain his policies on Iraq despite the electoral backlash against the Republicans, Prime Minister John Howard said on Thursday.


US voter anger against the war in Iraq saw Bush’s Republican party lose control of the House of Representatives and possibly Congress in mid-term elections on Wednesday, prompting the resignation of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

“I will be telling him (Bush) that Australia’s view is that it would be against everybody’s interest, except the terrorists, for the coalition to leave in circumstances of defeat,” Howard told reporters on Thursday.

Howard is due to hold talks with Bush on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Vietnam next week.

Staunch US ally Australia, which has about 1,500 troops in and around Iraq, was one of the first nations to join the 2003 US-led war that ousted former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

Howard said he was sure the Republican defeat would not make the United States, or its ally Britain, fundamentally change their positions on Iraq.

“Although they are clearly looking for ways in which their tactics may change, their strategy is not going to change, they are not going to suddenly pull out of Iraq,” he said.

“We have to take a little bit of a reality check. Clearly the President has reacted to the vote. That is sensible. But his reaction does not amount to a fundamental change of direction.”

Bush on Wednesday conceded that voter discontent with Iraq played a part in his party’s “thumping” by Democrats. He also acknowledged his Iraq policy was “not working well enough, fast enough” but refused to back down.

Rumsfeld, one of the staunchest defenders of Bush’s Iraq policy, resigned after the heavy Republican losses.

Howard described Rumsfeld’s resignation as a political gesture, adding that he would maintain friendly ties with the former defence secretary.

“I like Donald Rumsfeld. He’s been a controversial Defence Secretary. On a personal level I enjoyed Donald Rumsfeld’s company and I will in the future,” he said.

Voices of Iraq: Kurdistan-German
كتب: nadioshka في يوم الأربعاء, 08 نوفمبر, 2006 - 07:14 PM BT

Kurdistan-German
Kurdistan signs MOU with German companies
By Aziz Mahmoud
Sulaymaniya, Nov 8, (VOI) – Iraqi Kurdistan government on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with a German delegation representing 200 companies, Kurdish minister of building and reconstruction said.
“The delegation arrived on Tuesday and signed a memorandum of understanding with the ministry concerning cooperation in reconstruction, investment and services,” Emad Ahmed told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
“Contracts signed between the ministry and German companies will soon be implemented,” the minister added.
This is the second visit by the German delegation to Kurdistan in as many months.

Kurdistan-German :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq

.:: Peyamner Daily NEWS::.

Austrian Airlines to start scheduled flights to Kurdistan
[15:46 , 08 Nov 2006]
Erbil, Kurdistan Region

PNA- Austrian Airlines announced on Monday that it will start scheduled flights to Erbil International Airport on 11 December.

Peter Katzlberger, the company's representative in the Kurdistan Region, said, "Austrian Airlines is proud to announce that it is the first western regular scheduled carrier operating in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq."

The airline said that it will operate two scheduled flights a week between Vienna and Erbil, and tickets can be booked at any Austrian Airlines office around the world or in Erbil, or through an IATA (International Air Transport Association) member travel agent.

Falah Mustafa Bakir, the minister in charge of the KRG's Office of Foreign Relations, said, "We are pleased that the Austrian foreign ministry amended its Iraq travel advice to show the true picture that the Kurdistan Region is safer."

He added, "I hope that other scheduled carriers will start to recognise that Kurdistan's air travel market is growing and ripe for investment."

Charter carriers have been operating direct flights to the Kurdistan Region since July 2005, with routes including Frankfurt, Stockholm, Istanbul, Dubai and Amman. Austrian Airlines is the first western scheduled carrier.

The Kurdistan Regional Government is improving aviation infrastructure by expanding the airport to accommodate 1.5 million passengers and 35,000 tonnes of freight a year. The new airport is due to be completed in 2007.

Contact details for Austrian Airlines and other carriers and agents are available on the travel information page.

.:: Peyamner Daily NEWS::.

Kurds and more effective international measures towards self-determination
[16:08 , 08 Nov 2006]
Kurds (The Kurdish Globe)

PNA-Recently European Parliament asked the governments of Turkey, Syria and Iran to respect the cultural rights of Kurds.

The report reads that Kurdish language has been forbidden systematically without reason, though Kurds are one of the large nation who have not their own state. However Kurds want to take advantages of the discussion.

Sayid Ibrahim, head of the Komala believes that any type of international discussion on the Kurdish issue is something to be taken advantage of by the Kurds. "There is a truth of which we, the Kurds, and our oppressors know for a fact.

That is, the coming about of a democratic environment in any of the four parts of Kurdistan will open more doors for developing the (Kurdish) political struggle," Ibrahim says. "This means if these countries do not think of solving the Kurdish question directly, they will not let democracy exist either."


He believes that any right achieved by means of power struggle will not have any purpose, and the cultural rights of the people of Iraqi Kurdistan gained since early 1970s is a clear example of that. According to Ibrahim, the recent initiations of the European Union to grant cultural rights to the people of Kurdistan could very well be another attempt to maintain the balance of power. He says the suggestions of the EU are for the purpose of these countries to get rid of the Kurdish issue without solving the matter indefinitely.

"Since the coming to power of Khatami, cultural rights have been abandoned," says Ibrahim. "And the reason for that is to descend the Kurdish issue from a national one to a less important one." He believes that this EU request is nothing more than another discussion for the Iranian authorities to further demeaning the issue, which can only be solved through the right to self-determination, to an inferior issue.

Playing with the Kurdish issue for their own self-interests

Ibrahim states that all that certain nations and the superpowers are doing is simply playing with the Kurdish issue for their own self-interests. They have made the Kurds one of their strongest cards to be played when they want to threaten or put pressure on the countries that contradict them. "Whenever they think their interests can be met via other means, they go ahead and turn their back to Kurds." Although, Ibrahim believes the Kurds have been able to gain huge accomplishments. He says that Kurds, themselves, are able to put forward their issue on their own and prove their existence, both internally and internationally.

However, Abdulbaqi Yousef, former president of the Kurdish Union Party of Syria, who is now the party's politburo member, considers the decision to be a positive one from which he says the Kurds can benefit to a great extent. "I hope the European Union will seriously take the Kurdish issue into account and not just use it as an excuse to pressure the countries with Kurdish populations," he says.

This Kurdish political party official also mentioned that his party had prepared a protocol between the European Union and Syria for the same rights; however, Syria refused to sign it and the European Union did not do anything to confront that seriously. (The Union) simply said that the Kurdish issue in Syria, Iran, Turkey and Iraq can only be calmed down through democratic polls in the region, adding that this would bring about and stabilize security in the area.

European countries try hard to help and solve the Kurdish issue

Yousef added that the Kurdish factions are capable of benefiting from any international initiation on the Kurdish issue, and the Kurds should exert their efforts to help themselves. According to him, the Kurdish issue is no longer an internal problem; but a global matter which concerns the region and the world politics. International opportunities have made governments worldwide to review their politics and policies towards Kurds. "The Cold War had really downsized the Kurdish problem, and the opportunity that exists today is not in the interests of those countries upon which the Kurds have been distributed," Yousef says.

He adds that it is necessary for the Kurds to flourish democracy within themselves to rejoin a greater Middle East currently undergoing region-wide democratization.

The opinion of Haval Abubakir, journalist and professor at the University of Sulaimaniyah; however, is that Europe wants to have a voice in the Middle Eastern negotiations which has so far been able to show its presence in both, Iraq and Lebanon. He says if the bordering countries did decide to grant the Kurds cultural rights, it would only be to prevent the Kurds in the region to reach the stage at which the Kurds in Iraq are. They would only do that to give the least amount of rights to Kurds.

Abubakir believes that certain European countries do try hard to help and solve the Kurdish issue, but certain Kurdish factions are with the idea of having the Kurdish problem internally within the borders of the states without any external power attacking any of the countries, Turkey, Iran or Syria. They do not want their rights to be under the attacks of global politics and international balancing of power.

"Today, the Kurds are an effective force," he says. "This is one reason behind the decision of some of the European Union member-states for their initiation," adding that Iran and Syria are now under major threats. Finding a solution for Kurds peacefully in their borders would be much better than what is happening in Iraq today.

Abubakir added that through having these cultural rights granted to them, the Kurds would then be able to gradually find all their self-determination rights. He believes that if Kurds, after they are given their cultural rights, make efforts towards obtaining their political rights and establish their government departments within themselves, they would then be taking a more "right" path, briefly referring to the Kurdish government in Iraq as an example to his opinion.


The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously rejected due to its alleged political implications by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan".

Others estimate as many as 40 million Kurds live in Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia), which covers an area as big as France, about half of all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in Turkey.

The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan but unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag is banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it is a criminal offence"

MENAFN - Middle East North Africa . Financial Network News: Aid for trade no substitute for market access: WTO official

Aid for trade no substitute for market access: WTO official

The Peninsula - 08/11/2006

Aid for trade was essential for developing countries, but it cannot be a substitute for market access, World Trade Organisation (WTO) Deputy Director, Valentine Rugwabiza, said here yesterday.

"The two are equally very important. Market access is essential but for certain countries it is not sufficient, the WTO official said in remarks to The Peninsula at the end of the two-day meeting on aid for trade. The meeting at the Ritz-Carlton concluded yesterday.

She said that as far as the world trade system and rules were concerned, trade barriers were among the many factors contributing to low growth rates in developing countries.

"Not only trade barriers to products entering the developing countries but also on products exported from developing countries are major obstacles to developing countries' growth," she said.

She noted that the high standards required by markets can be met, but developing countries need capacity building.

"Those trade rules are very important, market access is key, but market access is not sufficient for certain countries which need more access. They need a capacity to produce competitively to be able to meet the standards and requirements of other markets, including the markets of developed countries, hence this aid for trade meeting," said Rugwabiza.

She emphasised the importance of boosting developing countries' potential to mobilise investment to reduce poverty by putting in place the right investment climate to attract investment.

Investors need to have some stability and need to be assured that when they come to invest in a country, rules would not change abruptly without notice in five or ten years, she said.

"Qatar is one of the right examples in that sense. But more than just trying to attract investment, you need also to have the know-how. Investors need to know they will find the right skills where they come to invest."

She added that developing countries also needed to develop those skills and appropriate infrastructure, a task that could be achieved through aid for trade provided to governments to enable them to invest in these sectors.

Rugwabiza is convinced that investment has a high potential to reduce poverty, but emphasised that it is also important to have in place in the country concerned the right policies to make sure that the benefits from investments were spread throughout the country and that they were not just going to a small group of people, because that would not be sustainable.

"Today this has become a priority in emerging developing countries such as India and China which are doing a lot of effort, putting policies in place, to make sure that their current growth is being better disseminated throughout their countries," she said.

MENAFN - Middle East North Africa . Financial Network News: Iraqi education system in danger

Iraqi education system in danger

MENAFN - 09/10/2006

(MENAFN) Due to the current Iraqi security issues, Iraq's school and university system is in danger of collapse in large areas of the country since a lot students and teachers are no more attending schools, The Guardian reported.

Teachers in both university and schools said that they no longer feel safe to attend their educational institutions.

Nearly half the staffs of some schools and colleges have escaped out of the country, resigned or applied to go on prolonged vacation, according to an official.

An official in the Iraqi ministry of education stated that class sizes have dropped by up to half in the areas that are the worst affected in the country.

I just wanted to re-post this cuz some of you might have not seen it yet...
and we're on a new thread too...

Did anyone happen to watch C-SPAN this afternoon when they had a guy on from the Natl. Security Agency for Saudi Arabia? They had done a year long study about the situation in Iraq. He was sort of giving a press conference about this study... In a nutshell, he said things are in dire straits over there, and major things had to happen right away in order to save Iraq from falling into 3 different countries...i.e Kurdistan. He mainly talked about the influence Iran was with the insurgency and named about 3 or 4 different factions of these groups. He said that Saudi Arabia has been working with the US to try to get Iran to the table to try and influence these insurgents from monkey-wrenching everything...Also mentioned they knew of 3 or 4 key leaders from Al Qaeda that were operating there. It didn't sound too promising, although, he did say that King Faud has promised to forgive ALL of Iraq's debt. And noted that Saudi Arabia has been the largest debtor to Iraq... I guess that was about it.
The news conference was dated OCT. 30th... I didn't get to see the whole program, just the Natl. Security guy... but they had alot of other big wigs speaking too.

http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:808...cord=197294446

Originally Posted by ozizoz

I am just hoping this 2 dinar a day change in the exchange rate that we've seen as is moved to 1466 isnt their idea of a reval . . .at that rate it will take 47 years for me to make a killing :)

Interesting,

What we are seeing has nothing to do with revalue, it is more related to the declining dollar, so don't worry about it, it is not a reval.

Good luck to all, Mike