Thursday, October 04, 2007
Iraq orders $100 mn. worth of light military equipment from China
(Reuters) - Iraq has ordered light military equipment from China worth $100 million because the United States is unable to meet Baghdad's requirements, the Washington Post reported President Jalal Talabani as saying. The weapons are intended for Iraq's police where only one in five officers are armed, it quoted Talabani as saying in an article published on its Web site on Thursday.
The Iraqi president also called for faster U.S. weapons deliveries to strengthen Iraq's army. "The capacity of the factories here are not enough to provide us quickly with all that we need, even for the army," the newspaper quoted Talabani, who is visiting the United States, as saying. "One of our demands is to accelerate the delivery of the arms to the Iraqi army".
Last week the Pentagon said it was ready to sell Iraq weapons worth up to $2.3 billion to help its army expand and take over missions now carried out by U.S. and other foreign forces. It said the sale would include vehicles, small arms ammunition, explosives and communications equipment, as well as upgrades to 32 additional UH-1 helicopters.
The newspaper said U.S. officials conceded Washington faced problems delivering everything Baghdad needed. "We're working hard just to supply our own troops," an administration official told the newspaper. "Our factories are working for our own troops. So it's true we don't have the ability to provide these rifles and other equipment they're looking for."
The Iraqi president also called for faster U.S. weapons deliveries to strengthen Iraq's army. "The capacity of the factories here are not enough to provide us quickly with all that we need, even for the army," the newspaper quoted Talabani, who is visiting the United States, as saying. "One of our demands is to accelerate the delivery of the arms to the Iraqi army".
Last week the Pentagon said it was ready to sell Iraq weapons worth up to $2.3 billion to help its army expand and take over missions now carried out by U.S. and other foreign forces. It said the sale would include vehicles, small arms ammunition, explosives and communications equipment, as well as upgrades to 32 additional UH-1 helicopters.
The newspaper said U.S. officials conceded Washington faced problems delivering everything Baghdad needed. "We're working hard just to supply our own troops," an administration official told the newspaper. "Our factories are working for our own troops. So it's true we don't have the ability to provide these rifles and other equipment they're looking for."
Labels: China, Iraq, Iraqi police, Jalal Talabani, weapons
Monday, June 25, 2007
Iraqi FM signs agreement writing off Iraq's $8 bn. debt with China
Debt
(Voices of Iraq) - Iraqi Finance Minister Baqer Jabr al-Zubaidy signed an agreement with his Chinese counterpart on writing off 100 percent of Iraq's 8-billion-dollar debts due for China on the sidelines of a current visit by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to Beijing. "A big ceremony was held on the occasion attended by Talabani and Chinese President Hu Jintao at the People's Hall in China," the Iraqi finance ministry said in a statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Zubaidy had held several meetings with the Chinese side in Baghdad on the means to settle the issue of having China writing off the Iraq's government and corporate debts. The decision makes China the 55th country to write its due debts off Iraq. China, during the last donors conference in the Spanish capital Madrid, had pledged to assist Iraqi refugees, write debts off Iraq and offer 25 million dollar in financial aid to the war-scarred country.
Zubaidy had held several meetings with the Chinese side in Baghdad on the means to settle the issue of having China writing off the Iraq's government and corporate debts. The decision makes China the 55th country to write its due debts off Iraq. China, during the last donors conference in the Spanish capital Madrid, had pledged to assist Iraqi refugees, write debts off Iraq and offer 25 million dollar in financial aid to the war-scarred country.
Labels: Baqer Jabr al-Zubaidy, China, debt relief
Friday, June 22, 2007
Talabani first Iraqi president to visit China since 1958
International
(Xinhua) - Jalal Talabani left for Beijing on June 20 on a weeklong state visit to China, the first by an Iraqi president since 1958, Xinhua reported the same day. "It's my honor to be the first Iraqi president to visit China since the establishment of the diplomatic ties between Iraq and China 49 years ago," Talabani said. "I am looking forward to the visit and hope it will open a new phase of the bilateral relations."
Al-Sharqiyah television reported the same day that Talibani hopes his visit will persuade China to write off Iraq's debt, which is estimated at approximately $8 billion. Talabani is being accompanied by several Iraqi officials including Finance Minister Baqir Jabr Sulagh, Interior Minister Jawad al-Bulani, Oil Minister Husayn al-Shahrastani, and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Rafi al-Isawi.
COMMENT: China has considerable oil interests in Iraq dating back to the former regime. They are also less concerned than Western oil companies about the security risks and health and safety issues. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: China, debt relief, Jalal Talabani
Friday, May 25, 2007
China to sign $750 mn. power station contract
Reconstruction
(IRAQdirecotry.com) - A high-level delegation from the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity in Beijing is signing a contract to have China speed up implementation of the power station at Zubaydiah in southern Baghdad. An official source in the ministry said that the two sides agreed, during a meeting between the Minister of Electricity Kareem Waheed and the Chinese ambassador in Baghdad, to expedite the signing of a contract for the construction of the 1320 megawatt Al-Zubaydeh power station, at a cost of $750 million.
The Ministry of Electricity has started preparing special sites for 50 generators in the city of Baghdad, to increase electric production before mid-June and reduce hours of rationing in the capital. On the other hand, a dispute escalated between officials in the ministries of oil and electricity about supplying the power plants with fuel; the Ministry of Electricity held the Ministry of Oil responsible for the waste of 1000 MW capacity because of shortfalls of fuel for the plants.
Labels: Al-Zubaydeh power station, China, electricity, Kareem Waheed, Ministry of Electricity, Zubaydiah
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Asian companies likely to get first Iraqi oil contracts
Oil
(India Times) - Despite whispers in some quarters that the Bush administration invaded Iraq to take control of its oil, the first contracts with major oil firms from Iraq's new government are likely to go not to US companies, but rather to firms from China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia. "While Iraqi lawmakers struggle to pass an agreement on exactly who will award the contracts and how the revenue will be shared, experts say a draft version that passed the cabinet earlier this year will likely uphold agreements previously signed by those countries under Saddam Hussein's government," CNNMoney.Com has said in a report citing energy experts.
"The Chinese could announce something within the next few months" if all goes well with the oil law, James Placke, a senior associate at Cambridge Energy Research Associates who specializes in the Middle East has been cited in the report. The Asian firms are advantaged and for several reasons: they are less constrained by Western sanctions during the Hussein regime, they've been operating in Iraq and know the country's oilfields, according to Falah Aljibury, an energy analyst who has advised several Iraqi oil ministers as well as other OPEC nations.
Aljibury said the first contracts likely awarded will be to the Chinese in the south central part of Iraq, the Vietnamese in the south, the Indians along the Kuwaiti border, and the Indonesians in the western desert;but that the contracts under consideration are small. According to Aljibury, the Chinese agreement is to produce about 70,000 barrels of oil a day, while the Vietnamese one is for about 60,000. The report said it is hard to to put a dollar amount on what those contracts might be worth, as security costs, drilling conditions and the exact terms to be offered by Baghdad are unknown. But the barrel amount is tiny even by Iraq's depressed post-war production of around 2 million barrels a day.
Labels: China, contracts, India, Indonesia, oil, Vietnam
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Chinese to negotiate resumption of $700 mn oil deal
Oil
(Brunei Times) A Chinese delegation has arrived in Iraq with a mission to resume a US$700 million oil deal signed during Saddam Hussein's time, state media reported. "It's true that Chinese officials will be in Baghdad to discuss the exploration of the Ahdab oil field," said an unnamed official with the Chinese Embassy to Iraq, according to the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post.
The official also said Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and other high-ranking officials would visit China, with the specific date yet to be decided. According to the Iraqi Oil Ministry, Oil Minister Hussein Al Shahristani met China's new ambassador Chen Xiaodong on Monday to discuss a planned visit by President Jalal Talabani and the oil minister to China this month. Iraq holds estimated oil reserves of up to 115 billion barrels, the third biggest in the world.
The official also said Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and other high-ranking officials would visit China, with the specific date yet to be decided. According to the Iraqi Oil Ministry, Oil Minister Hussein Al Shahristani met China's new ambassador Chen Xiaodong on Monday to discuss a planned visit by President Jalal Talabani and the oil minister to China this month. Iraq holds estimated oil reserves of up to 115 billion barrels, the third biggest in the world.
Labels: Ahdab oil field, China, Hussain al-Shahristani, Minister of Electricity, oil
