Some companies have pulled out of the autonomous region following pressure from the federal government, which considers the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports unconstitutional. The head of the US mission in Erbil met with a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) official today to discuss the ongoing oil dispute in Iraq. Consul General …

The Omani economy is benefiting from both higher oil and gas revenues and the country’s fiscal policies and discipline. Oman’s economy has enjoyed a strong first half to 2022 and the outlook for the rest of this year and 2023 is positive. The sultanate’s public finances have significantly improved compared …

Iranian news outlets are emphasizing the uncertainties facing the nuclear deal as the country’s top diplomat said more guarantees were still needed from the United States for the accord’s revival. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has demanded that Washington offer more robust guarantees for sanctions relief in negotiations over the …

How AI Distorts Decision-Making and Makes Dictators More Dangerous In policy circles, discussions about artificial intelligence invariably pit China against the United States in a race for technological supremacy. If the key resource is data, then China, with its billion-plus citizens and lax protections against state surveillance, seems destined to …

Seul chef d’État africain à avoir été invité aux Rencontres des entrepreneurs de France (REF), le président béninois a multiplié les échanges avec les patrons. Objectif : les convaincre d’investir dans son pays. Le 30 août, face au patronat français, le discours de Patrice Talon a visiblement fait mouche devant …

Découvertes en cascade de pétrole, renégociation des contrats gaziers et nouveau positionnement stratégique… Alger s’appuie sur ses ressources pour jouer un rôle-clé dans la nouvelle donne énergétique. Dans la région de Sbâa, à 6 km du centre de traitement de Hassi Illatou, dans la wilaya d’Adrar, c’est une nouvelle découverte …

Malgré les inquiétudes des ONG, Kinshasa a lancé un appel d’offres pour l’exploration et l’exploitation de 27 blocs pétroliers et 3 gaziers. Estimant qu’il est temps de saisir l’opportunité d’augmenter significativement les revenus de l’État. Entretien avec Didier Budimbu, le ministre des hydrocarbures. La volonté du gouvernement congolais d’accélérer l’exploration …

On July 25, the Atlantic Council’s Iraq Initiative and Future of Iran Initiative hosted a virtual event titled “Iran and Iraq: The struggle for tenable relations.” Moderated by Masoud Mostajabi, associate director of Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council, the discussion analyzed the political, economic, and cultural ties and …

After eight months of stalemate in the Iraqi Council of Representatives (CoR), Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his parliamentary bloc to turn in their letters of resignation on June 12 and withdraw from the partially disabled legislature. Even with seventy-three members of parliament out (22 percent of the total members), the institution …

Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced he would resign from Iraqi politics on August 29, prompting his followers to storm government palaces in response and sparking fears that violence could erupt in a country already beset by its worst political crisis in years. Iraq’s military announced a nationwide curfew and the …