Iraq Reconstruction News 25 March 2007

Iraq Reconstruction News
25 March 2007


1. World Bank Iraq Data Sheet March 2007 http://siteresources.worldbank.org/IRFFI/64168382-1092419012421/21250509/DATASHEETIRAQFeb2007Final.pdf

2. Opportunities and Challenges for Economic Growth in Iraq -- CSIS hosted Frank Lavin, United States Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, on March 1. Under Secretary Lavin gave a speech entitled "Opportunities and Challenges for Economic Growth in Iraq" and shared with the CSIS audience the presentation he gave in Erbil to Iraqi Government officials and private sector leaders to launch the U.S.-Iraq Business Dialogue. http://www.csis.org/component/option,com_csis_events/task,view/id,1218/

3. KRG Transport Ministry Plans Rail Links Between Kurdish Provinces -- Kurdistan, (KTV), PNA. Companies from Poland and the Netherlands are currently on a visit to Kurdistan to examine various key projects including rail links and oil refineries. http://kurdistanobserver.servehttp.com/Mar-2007/12-3-07-krg-rail-links.html

4. Iran Playing a Growing Role in Iraq's Economy - TEHRAN (Fars News Agency) - While the Bush administration works to stop Iran from having any constructive role in Iraq, Iranian air-conditioners fill Iraqi appliance stores, Iranian tomatoes ripen on the windowsills of kitchens here and legions of white Iranian-made Peugeots sit in Iraqi driveways. http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8512260206

5. LIFE Partners with UNICEF to Rehabilitate Schools in Iraq -- For more than a quarter century, Iraqi society has suffered through wars and a severe economic embargo, which in turn have caused a serious education crisis in the country. Along with the destroyed and dilapidated schools, the violent and chaotic security situation in Iraq is greatly hindering the repair and re-construction efforts. http://www.arabamericannews.com/newsarticle.php?articleid=7930

6. Licenses to export Iraqi products and import goods from abroad http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3379

7. Maliki's Most Potent Weapon - TCS contributor Peter Schaefer served in Vietnam as an American military intelligence officer, then in the mid-1970s became deeply involved in economic development analysis and property right issues. A former adviser to Peruvian economist Hernando De Soto, Schaefer is now working on a business project that involves "commercial scale" property registration in the developing world. Austin Bay explains why this work matters for Iraq. http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=030707C

8. Iraqi Navy Sunk By Corruption -- The Iraqi navy is trying once more to build up its navy. It hasn't been easy, Corruption and bureaucracy have made life difficult. Not that the old, Saddam era, navy was anything to boast about. http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htworld/articles/20070320.aspx

9. Iraq Navy on Its Way to Independence -- The Iraqi Navy will soon add 21 vessels to its fleet, putting it another step closer to being operationally independent, officials said during a Baghdad news conference Sunday. With a contract on the verge of completion, the Iraqi Navy is the first of the Iraq's forces to use the Ministry of Defense's procurement process with Iraqi money in purchasing major capital programs from foreign governments and commercial ventures. http://newsblaze.com/story/20070320122519tsop.nb/newsblaze/IRAQ0001/Iraq.html

10. Sailors pump up Iraq oil terminal -- ABOARD AL BASRA OIL TERMINAL — Much of Iraq’s financial hope for the future rests on a $59 million coalition-funded upgrade. Buoyed some 60 miles south of the war-torn nation in the Persian Gulf sits an oil platform that provides Iraq with an estimated 85 percent of the struggling country’s revenue. http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=44002

11. VeriSign launches PrePayIN service In Iraq -- (MENAFN) The Chairman of the Iraq-based Al-Mazaya Telecommunications said that the company will launch a new repay service, PrePayIN, supported by VeriSign Inc. in the first half of this year, Portal Iraq reported. http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?storyid=1093144329

12. My Iraq: Basra business trainer -- Najah trains women at a business development centre in Basra. The kind of NGO I work for didn't exist under Saddam Hussein's rule. helped establish an association for women's education. We encourage them to set up small businesses.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/6451199.stm

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