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<channel><generator>iloblog 1.0</generator><title>IQSpaces blog Feed</title><link>http://blog.iqspaces.com/</link><description>Here you can follow the progress and all the things that concerns IQSpaces</description><item><title>First women-only bank</title><link>http://iloapp.iqspaces.com/blog/blog?Home&amp;post=4</link><description><![CDATA[   NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - In 
one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest cities, a bank has opened a branch only 
for women, hoping to tap a potentially large market and meet pent-up 
demand from Muslim women for financial services that meet their needs. 


   The manager of the Najaf branch of the private Babel bank is,
 however, a man. He must make an appointment before making a visit and 
enter the premises through a back door. 


   "Through this bank they (women customers) can unveil and 
exercise complete freedom in dealing with the employees," said Mazen 
Abdul-Razzaq, Babel's deputy director. 


   A study by The Boston Consulting Group, which included Iraq, 
found that women worldwide were particularly dissatisfied when it came 
to financial services.  


   Iraqi women interviewed at the women-only bank in Najaf say 
they felt uncomfortable dealing with male bank clerks in regular banks 
and felt much more relaxed in the new branch. 


   The establishment in Najaf of the branch, which opened a week
 ago and gave access to a few male journalists to publicise the event, 
reflects to some extent the religious conservatism that pervades the 
city -- a major centre of Shi'ite learning. 


   Women in the city have long been expected for religious and 
cultural reasons to wear all-enveloping abayas, and hijabs, or scarves, 
to cover their hair. 


   Iraq was once considered among the more westernised countries
 in the Middle East. After the first Gulf war and the sanctions in the 
1990s, former dictator Saddam Hussein used religion to shore up support 
for his largely secular regime. 


   In the aftermath of the 2003 U.S. invasion, which led to 
Iraq's Shi'ite majority taking power, religious conservatives and 
militias on both sides of the sectarian divide imposed often draconian 
restrictions on women. 


   Some restrictions have since eased, though many remain. 


 


   MORE DEMAND? 


   In the women-only branch in Najaf, women tellers sit behind 
windowed booths, bricks of Iraqi dinars piled to one side, while 
counting machines flutter through wads of U.S. $100 bills. 


   Standing in line, a woman calling herself Um Zina or "Mother 
of Zina", said Najaf needed more places like it. 


   "Woman will go out freely to places where there are only 
women," the beauty parlour employee said. "I encourage such ideas so 
women don't get embarrassed." 


   Iqbal Mohammed, head of accounts at the bank, sees the new 
branch benefiting all Iraqi women, but especially those in Najaf who are
 "isolated in her house and busy raising children". 


   "We have backed her to exercise one of her rights. We have 
given her the right to go outdoors and do some business." 


   Iraq's banking sector, like its society, is changing. 


   Most is still run by the state, which controls about 80 
percent of gross domestic product. But the private banks that have set 
up shop are booming. Bankers speak of a surge in deposits and loans as 
the violence began to subside. 


   The increasing security is still fragile - twin suicide bombs
 in Baghdad on Sunday killed 155 people. 


   If the women-only branch is successful, others may follow, 
said Abdul Aziz Hassoun, head of the Iraqi Private Banks League. 


   "This is going to be something that is desirable, and it is 
not limited only to the holy cities ... maybe other banks will copy this
 example once there is demand," he said.  Here is a link to the article published in reuters India.    http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-43475520091027?sp=true   
 ]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:41:33 +0100</pubDate><category>From the press</category></item><item><title>Svensk Exportkredit (SEK) Advisory Services besökte Bagdad</title><link>http://iloapp.iqspaces.com/blog/blog?Home&amp;post=3</link><description><![CDATA[  Nicholas Anderson är ansvarig för Svensk Exportkredit (SEK)
Advisory Services. Han har en 36 år lång karriär inom bank och finans
bakom sig och berättar här om sitt besök i Bagdad nyligen.   I
am not a person who runs after adventure and I was worried about my own
safety when travelling to Baghdad. I had decided to take on an advisory
assignment to see what financial solutions exist to promote Swedish
exports to Iraq. Before the strife in Iraq, the big Swedish companies
have been major exporters. ABB sold power transmission systems, Scania
and Volvo assembled and sold lorries and Ericsson delivered telephone
networks. Today all Swedish companies have difficulties to do business
there because the Iraqi banking system has been shot to pieces. My
assignment is to find solutions that will help develop the banking
system there over the next few years with Swedish support so that
companies and ordinary people in both countries can enjoy the benefits
of trade, banking and Swedish knowhow that we take for granted here in
Sweden. Arlanda airport shuts down their security checks at
midnight so Hussein Kanber-agha, my local Swedish Iraqi associate, and
I had to be the by 23.00h to clear security and passport control to
catch the 02:30h Iraqi Airways flight to Baghdad. The Iraqis love
flying when the rest of the world is curled up in a warm bed! It was
rather a good flight because this new Arlanda-Baghdad service has an
efficient Swedish crew. We left on time and arrived on a hot sunny
morning in Baghdad.  The airport was clean and we had no trouble
going through passport control. It was a friendly “good morning, Sir”
and a short walk to the taxi stand. Here a special taxi superintendent
took our names and address just in case something happened on the way.
And nothing happened except we encountered heavy traffic when driving
to a friend’s home. Every few kilometers a checkpoint soldier and
policeman stared in to our car and waved us on. Most of the faces
smiled under their helmet. Their guns were all pointed downwards in
polite deference. We arrived at the house and had a shower and some
breakfast - small pizzas from a cousin’s bakery and sweet brown tea.  Refreshed,
we started or visits with Hamid, our driver, a young man who is a
friend of Hussein’s family, in a small unmarked white Toyota sedan. I
sat in the back seat while Hussein and Hamid exchanged their stories
from the last two years since their last meeting.  That Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday, we visited 12 banks and several other business
people. Each bank was similar to the next. Burly security men stood
outside the gates and five meter high concrete slabs that surrounded
the buildings. When they saw me, the white European, get out of the car
they saluted and smiled. Only one of them scared me. He was on guard at
a very crowded bank where there were a lot of people coming in and out.
He was probably nervous, poor man.   All the banks typically have
the same style banking area filled with people making payments and
trying to borrow money. The staff is predominantly women who are
counting thick wads of notes and filling in hand written forms.
Computers have yet to be introduced widely to the banks!  In order
to be careful about our own security, we had only told our banking
friends that we would arrive on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. We did
not have to worry about being on time on any particular day. They do
not receive many visitors and the odd visitor arriving from one of
those unknown European countries is a welcome reason to show off in
front of the young staff. In every bank our arrival was greeted with
curiosity and smiles. The managing directors and chairmen of the board
in all the banks made up for their lack of computers with the number of
mobile telephones that they used all the time when we were sitting in
the meetings. The bigger the boss, the more calls he took in
mid-sentence.  When you travel a lot in different countries, you
look out for physical clues to evaluate companies and governments. I
have always used the toilet test. Travelling from bank to bank means
that you have to use their facilities especially when you are served
black Turkish coffee and sweet tea a dozen times a day. Only three
banks passed the test – most of them had unwashed, cracked and rusty
facilities.  I spent the nights in the bunker of the new Swedish
Embassy in Baghdad. The embassy is housed in a smart top security
compound that our government has invested in to spearhead business and
social development in Iraq. They have done an excellent job in
providing a safe and comfortable environment for Swedes who are
visiting Iraq. It is an exceptional solution when compared to the
embassies of other countries. Exportrådet are setting up an office
there and Sida already have people on the ground. This solution will go
far in promoting Sweden’s interests in seeing economic and social
development.  Over the three days there, we only saw one damaged
building, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry building that had been bombed some
three months ago. We learnt about three small bombings during our stay
there but we saw or heard nothing. The city is huge with traffic jams
and busy crowds fill the streets, restaurants, street markets and
shops. Men dress in suits and women in normal coats and dresses.
Baghdad is a modern busy city. If it was not for the guards, security
checkpoints and army convoys, you would not have thought of the
terrible violence that these people have experienced.  Travelling
from one meeting to another in 35C degrees is hot work especially when
many of the meeting rooms did not have any air-conditioning.
Electricity blackouts happen every day. Most of the banks had their own
generators. These are noisy machines that spew out diesel fumes at the
back of the buildings. To cool off we stopped at open air cafes and had
cool drink and grilled freshly slaughtered lamb. The small stands
always want to make sure that their customers see that the meat is
clean and fresh. They hang it above the charcoal fire for everyone to
inspect. Their other specialty is Masgouf. This is a traditional Iraqi
dish, it is an open cut carp grilled and spiced with salt, pepper and
tamarind. When you see it for the first time it looks like a thick
pizza. The shiny smoked surface is crispy. Its taste is delicious.
After the meal we washed our hands under a tap with a gritty piece of
soap.  Our visit to Baghdad coincided with a meeting of the
security people from the big Swedish companies at the Embassy. A short
unannounced visit is relatively safe because nobody knew about us or
about our car. But when our colleges and friends are there every day to
meet clients, partners and others, security is a real issue. A
kidnapped person from a major company can be used to secure a ransom.
Even though this practice has practically disappeared, it is important
that security is taken seriously.  On the last day we finished at
19.00h and were driven to the airport by the security men of one of the
banks. They used the car for transporting dollars from the airport to
the banks. This is a cash society where dollar notes are used to pay
for houses, cars, cloths, food and services! Our journey was slow
because an American convoy of heavily armed security vehicles drove in
front of us. A soldier waved a red flag if any car got too near. This
was a warning to stay back or be shot at. The vehicles had thick
antennas on the four corner of each car that cut the GSM network around
them to prevent roadside bombs from being activated by mobile phones.   We left Baghdad on the comfortable return flight with Iraqi Airways and arrived at 04.00h the next morning in Stockholm.  Iraq
has huge oil reserves, a well educated population that badly needs the
basic infrastructure of a modern country. Swedish companies have a good
reputation as honest and reliable suppliers. Many Iraqis have relatives
living in Sweden. You can expect that many of the 100 000 Iraqis now
living in Sweden will want to return to Iraq to have a decent job in
the rebuilding of their country. This is the opportunity of a life time
to extend another helping hand to a people that deserve something
better than what they have experienced the last thirty years.  



   http://www.swedfund.se/sv/pressrum/nyheter/tre-dagar-i-bagdad  

 Nicholas Anderson, Senior Vice President Head of SEK Advisory Services  SEK - Swedish Export Credit Corporation 
 ]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:14:34 +0100</pubDate><category>From the press</category></item><item><title>Sidas generaldirektör besökte Bagdad</title><link>http://iloapp.iqspaces.com/blog/blog?Home&amp;post=2</link><description><![CDATA[  Sveriges utvecklingssamarbete med Irak stod
i fokus när Sida:s  generaldirektör Anders Nordström besökte Bagdad den
9-10 september.
			  Ett
intensivt program i Bagdad inkluderade möten med bland andra Iraks
minister för mänskliga rättigheter, premiärministerns
rådgivare, ordföranden i den nationella
investeringskommissionen samt den irakiska
ordföranden i valkommissionen.  Vistelsen i Irak gav också
möjlighet till samtal med företrädare för FN, EU-kommissionen samt
USA.  Genomgående teman var hur den nya femårsstrategin för
utvecklingssamarbetet med Irak som regeringen beslutade om i somras
skall kunna genomföras, vilka sektorer och program som bör prioriteras,
samt hur olika givares insatser kan koordineras för att bäst svara mot
Iraks behov.      Till artikeln   
 ]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:50:58 +0200</pubDate><category>From the press</category></item><item><title>LTU ingår avtal med Irak</title><link>http://iloapp.iqspaces.com/blog/blog?Home&amp;post=1</link><description><![CDATA[   Under måndagen och tisdagen har universitetet gästats av Iraks
 forsknings- och utbildningsminister samt en kulturattaché från  den
irakiska ambassaden i Stockholm.   De har bland annat informerats om den
forskning och utbildning  som bedrivs vid LTU.  På
tisdagseftermiddagen träffades ett avtal mellan Luleå tekniska
universitet, LTU, och den irakiska regeringen om forsknings- och
utbildningssamarbete.  Publicerad 30 september 2009 06:00     Läs artikeln   
   
 ]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:30:16 +0200</pubDate><category>From the press</category></item><item><title>Iraks storslagna möjligheter</title><link>http://iloapp.iqspaces.com/blog/blog?Home&amp;post=0</link><description><![CDATA[        

Artikel  
Ewa Björling, Handelsminister      
Iraks storslagna möjligheter   
"Det existerar alltid möjligheter, genom vilka företag kan göra
storslagna vinster om de bara känner igen och fångar dem", så uttryckte sig en
gång den kända amerikanska industrialisten, tillika USA:s vid tiden rikaste person, Jean Paul Getty.   
Den 7:e oktober deltar jag när Svensk-irakiska handelskammaren i Stockholm anordnar en konferens under parollen "Möjligheterna är många".
Detta är ett välkommet och viktigt initiativ. Irak besitter enastående förutsättningar att bli ett nytt tillväxtfenomen.   
Irak har med världens tredje största oljereserv betydande naturresurser. Utbildningsnivån i landet är förhållandevis hög och befolkningen växer i
bra takt.   
Tyvärr har terrorism, krig och förstörelse har ställt den irakiska
ekonomin inför gigantiska utmaningar. Men landets centralbank har trots detta
lyckats pressa ner inflationen från 53 procent 2006 till 6.8 procent 2008, vilket
är lägre än många andra utvecklingsländer. Ny statistik från Internationella valutafonden visar att tillväxtstakten i Irak förväntas ligga på mellan
6-7 procent årligen fram till 2013, bland de högsta i Mellanöstern och imponerande även jämfört med resten av världen.   
Färska siffror från de irakiska försvars-, inrikes- och hälsovårdsdepartementen tyder dessutom på en halvering av antalet våldsrelaterade dödsfall. Denna kraftiga minskning av våldet ger
ytterligare 
hopp för framtiden.   
Från en rent kommersiell utgångspunkt är ett särskilt fokus på Irak lätt
att 
motivera. Svenska näringsidkare har varit verksamma i Irak under
decennier. 
Under 70- och 80-talen var landet en av Sveriges största exportmarknader i 
Mellanöstern. Iraks stora uppbyggnads- och utvecklingsbehov samt möjlighet till finansiering genom naturresurstillgångar innebär stor potential för
ett 
starkt handels- och industrisamarbete.   
Vår svensk-irakiska befolkning ger dessutom svenska företag en fördelaktig 
möjlighet att bli framstående i Irak. Irakier har kommit till Sverige
sedan 
början av 80-talet och idag är omkring 100 000 Irakfödda bosatta i
Sverige. 
Irak är nu det land varifrån flest icke-nordiska utlandsfödda i Sverige
har 
sitt ursprung.   
Jag har initierat Projekt Kosmopolit precis för att ta tillvara på 
utlandsföddas kunskaper för att öka handeln. Med detta blir
svensk-irakierna 
viktiga handelsambassadörer. Svenska företag får en konkurrensfördel,
vilket 
är positivt för svensk ekonomi i stort. Irak gynnas givetvis genom mer 
handel och fler investeringar.  
Ifjol ledde jag den första svenska handelsdelegation till Bagdad på 20 år. 
Besöket resulterade bland annat i en order för Scania om 500 lastbilar,
men 
även andra företag hade framgångar. Tillsammans med det stora irakiska 
besöket i Stockholm i slutet av maj förra året har vi skapat goda 
förutsättningar för ett snabbt växande utbyte mellan våra länder. Vår
export 
till Irak det senaste året har ökat med hela 148 procent. Affärer som
denna 
kommer att bidra till att utvecklingen fortsätter i positiv riktning.   
Mycket är nu på gång. Sveriges ambassad i Bagdad har nyligen öppnats.
Arbete pågår med att starta ett honorärt konsulat i Erbil. En ny svensk strategi för utvecklingssamarbetet med Irak antogs i somras. Eftersom det är 
irakierna själva som efterfrågar större fokus på näringslivsutveckling är 
det positivt att utvecklingssamarbetet avser stödja handel och näringsliv.   
Den svenska regeringen arbetar hårt för att förbättra handelsrelationerna 
mellan Sverige och Irak. Men svenska företag måste själva fånga och dra 
nytta av Iraks tillväxtpotential. Landets behov passar väl med vad svenska 
företag kan erbjuda inom exempelvis infrastruktur, hälso- och sjukvård, 
miljöteknik samt telekommunikation. Irak erbjuder, som Jean Paul Getty 
skulle ha sagt, många möjligheter genom vilka företag kan göra storslagna 
vinster. Det gäller bara att känna igen och dra fördel av dessa.  Källa / Source 
 
 
 
 
 

 




  
   http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/11388/a/133406   
  
 ]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:15:40 +0200</pubDate><category>From the press</category></item></channel>
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