Gulf countries – Iraqi Economists Network

A golden opportunity: How Iraq can benefit from regional calm. By Hamza Hadad*

Following the recent thaw in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Iraq is strengthening its ties with GCC states. European countries should support this development, which could help Iraq address its domestic challenges For decades, Iraq has been caught in the crossfire of tensions between neighbouring Iran and Saudi Arabia. But following the recent thaw in rel

As the kingdom’s model of capitalism without democracy thrives, the prospect of a Saudi century has consequences for us all. t the centre of the 2018 blockbuster film Black Panther is Wakanda, a hyper-modern civilisation on the African continent kept from the modern world by impenetrable geography and technologically enabled cloaking. Wakanda’s strength and security is provi

When President Bush appointed former Secretary of State James Baker III as his envoy on Iraq’s debt on December 5, 2003, he called Baker’s job “a noble mission.” At the time, there was widespread concern about whether Baker’s extensive business dealings in the Middle East would compromise that mission, which is to meet with heads of state and persuade them to forgive the debts

The Gulf War ranks in terms of scale of destruction and its consequent economic impact as one of the most devastating conflicts of modern times. Both Iran and Iraq are now confronted with the need to reconstruct shattered economies. What is clear, however, is that a return to the pre-war economic situation is not a realistic option. The cost of the conflict to Iraq means that i

Iran’s clerical leadership, under “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali HoseiniKhamene‘i, is expected to make rapid, significant, and symbolic responses to the targeted killing in Baghdad on January 3, 2019, of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Maj.-Gen. Qasem Soleimani. It seems unlikely that the Iranian response would initially be to launch a military assault