Engagement And Momentum, IBBC's 15Th Anniversary Conference Report

(MENAFN- Iraq Business News) From the Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) :

The IBBC 15th Anniversary Mansion House conference presented a range of engaging ministerial and business attendees. As Iraq's Economy is expanding and diversifying, the delegates reflected this in the range of topics and debates. Baroness Nicholson and Christophe Michels welcomed everyone at this milestone time and thanked all founders and members who supported IBBC over the years and both were pleased to announce IBBC is now its strongest, most influential and confident with much optimism for the future.

Iraq's top companies and minsters were freely available to discuss business with delegates, until the end of the day, including CEO's of BP , TotalEnergies , Basrah Gas Company , Mitsubishi , EY , SC , Wood , Sardar Group , the Central Bank of Iraq , Trade Bank of Iraq , CJ ICM , UB Holdings , Martrade , Vitol and Government advisors and Ministers, including: H.E. Dr Abdulkareem Al-Faisal (Chair of PM's advisory commission), Dr Luay Al Khateeb (Former Minister of Electricity), Professor Hamid Khalaf (PM's Advisor on Education), Dr Fareed Yasseen (Climate Envoy), Mr Ezzeldin Sajid Yousif (CBI), and officials from the KRG Ministry of Agriculture. The British Home office and foreign office DBT officials also on hand as observers and engagers.

Central to discussions was H.E Hayan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of oil, who outlined Iraq's intent to end gas flaring by 2028, build three new refineries, become self-sufficient and diversify oil products, petroleum, and chemical manufacture for export and produce 5m barrels per day (and have already reduced imports from $5b to $1bn). He called for more private sector investment in oil production and gas capturing for energy production and fertilizers, while encouraging the expansion of solar power, carbon reduction and use of sea water in processes. You can see his speech here .

Chair of KRG Investment board Dr Mohammed Shukri speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Barzani said KRG is open to investment in various sectors including agriculture, renewables, construction materials, fertilisers, plastics, infotech and education.

Rupert Soames chair of the Confederation of British Industries (CBI) articulated that trade is a stimulus for growth and while supply chains and economies are becoming hard to navigate, there is hope that a new reset will happen with the new UK Gov. Equally, Iraq can prove it can be well regulated and a reliable investment partner. He said working together with IBBC, CBI and governments presents an opportunity for all.

Dr Amet Selman of AAA holdings, principal sponsor, recognised the high level of collaboration between the UK and Iraq in contributing to food and climate security and supporting Iraq in its fertiliser requirements. Jon Wilks, Senior IBBC Advisor, who witnessed the birth of IBBC in 2009, was pleased to see it flourish, and knows that members care about Iraq and engage in real projects. As a former ambassador, he knows how important to have partners like IBBC and that the UK will be the strongest partner for Iraq.

Lord Howell made a significant macro speech on the eve of the UK, French and USA elections. He condemned the trivia of political debate, and warned 'the world is on fire', the forces of darkness and dangerous undercurrents are trying to destabilise democracy, there is war, climate change and digital disruption at the doors of states, struggling to uphold public services, stark choices face countries. We must look to strategies of resilience, honesty, civilised debate, to develop trust and respect in our political system and even survival strategies and rule of law if we are to prevail. 85% of the world depends on fossil fuels and its not practical to just stop, so a pragmatic timeline for transition and investment is necessary. Civilised debate and democracy must prevail. You can see his speech here .

This year a significant number of packed roundtables saw large numbers of attendees, including Finance (Hogan Lovells ), KRG, Education (Prof Hamid), Exchange rate report (Prof Gunter) , and full platform panels including the new Climate Change and AgirTech, chaired by Mr. Richard Cotton, with Dr. Shamal Mohammed, Dr Fareed Yasseen and Sara Akbar of Oilserv . Energy Transition chaired by Dr Luay Al Khateeb, Centre on Global Energy Policy, Oilserv , TotalEnergies , Basra Gateway , Wood and Hydro C completed a most engaging and dynamic discussion. To add to the round table discussions, a high-profile finance panel chaired by Mr. Ardil Salem of Hogan Lovells and speakers Mr. Jamil Choucair of Standard Chartered , Bilal al Sugheyer, IFC, Mr. Taiseer Jawad of TBI , and Prof. Frank Gunter. The panel discussions focused on the development of the banking system in Iraq and the fluctuating dollar exchange rate in addition to the new regulatory framework and the new technological advancement that the Iraqi banks are perusing to meet international standards.

Transport session chaired by Prof. Frank Gunter, featured also with Mr Tugrul Titanoglu, CJ-ICM ; and Mr Steve Alexandar, Sardar Group focused on regulatory change to open transport markets and a rare but required focus on the aged vehicle population in Iraq and its consequential pollution - with ideas for change.

The Rasmi Al Jabri Award for business excellence was awarded to Ms Hadeel Hassan of HHP Law in the presence of Rasmi Al Jabri's grandsons. This prestigious annual business award recognises business excellence in Iraq and is now in its 4th year. The Previous winners are Al Burhan Group , Sardar Group and AAA .

Newcastle University exhibited the fascinating new online Gertrude Bell archive and the Heritage Session, chaired by Prof. Mohammed Al Uzri, saw top archaeologists John McGinnis and Prof Mark Horton of RAU, talk of the latest Nimrod palace discoveries and questioned why Iraq is not as well-known as Egypt in the media - an opportunity waiting to happen.

The previous day, IBBCs Tech Forum hosted top Microsoft Cyber expert Karl Niblock, who spoke about AI and its threats and opportunities, and Entrepreneurs Nadine Benchaff (AgriTech) and Omar Al Hasan (Iraq tech ventures and the station) spoke about barriers and opportunities to tech growth in Iraq. View discussion here .

The forum was followed by an evening reception at the Mansion House to celebrate the 15th anniversary of IBBC. IBBC Vice President Lord Green addressed a large audience alongside Baroness Nicholson and the evening's Sponsor Sardar Group.

IBBC is grateful to all of its members for their support throughout the years and would like to tank AAA , CJ ICM , Hydro-C , TBI and Sardar Group for sponsoring this exceptionally rich and intense 15th anniversary event. We are were also grateful for the support and encouragement given by the Iraqi Embassy in London, the British Embassy in Baghdad and UK Visa and Immigration.

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