Al-Burhan Group was honoured to host a dinner at the Al Burhan Centre in Baghdad for the Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) trade mission, bringing together senior representatives from the UK and Iraqi business, political and institutional communities.

Hosted by Mr Imad Al Burhan, Managing Director of Al-Burhan Group, the dinner on 14 September formed part of an extensive programme undertaken by the IBBC delegation during its visit to Baghdad.

The 30-strong delegation brought together representatives of IBBC and its member companies from a wide range of sectors, including energy, technology, banking, legal services, healthcare, education, transport, communications, agriculture and investment.

The delegation was led by Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, President of IBBC, together with Christophe Michels, Managing Director; Jon Wilks CMG, Senior Adviser; and Ali Mashkour, Baghdad Manager.

During its mission, IBBC held a series of meetings with senior Iraqi ministers, government officials, regulators and institutional leaders, providing an opportunity to discuss Iraq's economic priorities, investment environment and opportunities for greater UK–Iraq commercial cooperation.

Meetings with Iraqi Ministers and Senior Officials
During the mission, IBBC held meetings with:

• H.E. Mr Falih Sari Abdashi, Minister of Finance
• H.E. Mr Abdul Rahim Jasim Mohammed Al-Shammari, Minister of Agriculture
• H.E. Mr Wahab Salman Mohammed Al-Hasani, Minister of Transport
• H.E. Dr Abdul Hussein Aziz Al-Musawi, Minister of Health
• H.E. Mr Adel Dakhil Al-Yasiri, Chairman of the National Investment Commission
• Mr Naseer Aziz Jabbar, Deputy Minister of Oil for Upstream
• Mr Baligh Abu Galal, Chairman of the Communications and Media Commission
• Mr Sattar Al-Jabiri, Deputy Minister of Trade
• Dr Ammar Khalaf, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq
• Mr Ali Al-Shatari, Director General of SOMO

The meetings enabled IBBC members to engage directly with ministers and senior officials on the priorities of Iraq's new Government, while raising issues affecting companies currently operating or seeking to operate in the country.

Discussions covered a broad range of areas, including public finance and banking reform, agriculture, transport and logistics, upstream oil and energy, crude oil marketing, trade, healthcare, telecommunications, investment and private-sector development.

The delegation also discussed the conditions required to attract greater international investment into Iraq and to enable the Iraqi private sector to play a larger role in the country's economy.

Al-Burhan Group Hosts IBBC Delegation

As part of the mission's programme, Mr Imad Al Burhan hosted the IBBC delegation at the Al Burhan Centre on 14 September, welcoming IBBC members alongside distinguished Iraqi political, business and institutional figures.

Among the guests was Mr Hoshyar Zebari, former Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The evening provided an opportunity for members of the delegation and their Iraqi counterparts to continue the day's discussions in a more informal setting, strengthening relationships and exchanging views on the opportunities and challenges facing Iraq's business community.

For Al-Burhan Group, hosting the dinner reflected the Group's commitment to supporting dialogue and engagement between Iraqi and international businesses and to contributing to the development of stronger commercial relationships between Iraq and the United Kingdom.

The Al Burhan Centre provided a fitting setting for the gathering, bringing together representatives from across the business, political and institutional landscape.

Strengthening UK–Iraq Business Relations

The IBBC mission also included a closed roundtable organised with the Strategic Foundation for Public Policy, bringing together representatives of the Iraqi Parliament, advisers to the Prime Minister, government officials, research institutions and economic specialists. Discussions focused on the future of the Iraq–UK relationship and opportunities to strengthen economic and commercial cooperation.
The delegation additionally met Sayyid Ammar Al-Hakim and the British Ambassador to Iraq, Irfan Siddiq, for discussions covering political and economic developments in Iraq and the wider region, as well as UK–Iraq relations. Baroness Nicholson also separately met Hadi Al-Ameri and Iraq's National Security Adviser, Qasim Al-Aboodi.

The visit demonstrated the breadth of engagement between Iraqi institutions and the international business community, while highlighting the opportunities for continued investment, partnership and cooperation across a wide range of sectors.

Al-Burhan Group was delighted to welcome the IBBC delegation and its distinguished guests to the Al Burhan Centre and to play a part in supporting this important programme of engagement in Baghdad.

We look forward to continuing to support initiatives that strengthen commercial ties between Iraq, the United Kingdom and the wider international business community, and to contributing to Iraq's continued economic development and investment landscape.

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