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As Washington withdraws from the region, Beijing expands its influence.

Despite ongoing regional and global turmoil, China hasnt ceased its investments in the Middle East. A recent report from Fudan University in Shanghai revealed that Beijing secured a new construction deal in Iraq for around $10.5 billion in 2021 a sum constituting almost one-sixth of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) investments that year.

Iraq has emerged as Chinas number one trading partner in the region and third-largest oil supplier, right after Saudi Arabia and Russia. Its energy reserves and strategic location near the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz prove critical for the BRI. As Washington withdraws from the region, Beijing is poised to expand its influence; rising economic relations with Baghdad will likely translate to political influence over time. The US, Iran, and Trkiye, all actively and deeply connected to Iraq, are closely watching Chinas moves.

Geopolitical threat

China's growing presence in the Middle East under the BRI appears to stymie US regional strategy. While the US has been trying to disengage from the Middle East for over a decade, Washington is also concerned about the threat to its still-strong political, economic and military presence in the region. China's possible role in the reconstruction of Iraq and growingChina-Iran relations are accelerating Beijings presence in Iraq at the expense of the US.

China-Iraq energy cooperation has been the cornerstone of their bilateral relationship since 1981, when the China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation started operations in the country. However, the raising of relations to a strategic partnership in 2015 was an alarming turning point for the US.

Iraq requires a massive $88 billion for its post-Daesh reconstructionneeds an ample opportunity for Beijing to increase its visibility through investment and construction. While bilateral tradetopped$30 billion in 2018, relations were enhanced under former Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, whodescribed the ties as poised for a quantum leap during Beijings 2019 visit. In the first half of 2021, trade volume between the two countriesexceeded$16 billion.

Contrary to the US hard power initiatives, China uses soft power strategies in Iraq, particularly economic investments and non-intervention politics. Beijing has recently been benefittingfrom post-conflict opportunities with mediation efforts and commercial commitment as opposed to military involvement and discourse elsewhere.

It has also already used its UNveto right many times, acting with Russia and against the Western bloc on the Syrian conflict. It is more active in major regional files like Afghanistan and will likely limit US political and military power in Iraq in the foreseeable future.

Iran's benefits

China's regional strategy aims to establish a geographical framework that will create a new balancing force against the West, led by China and Iran. In this respect, the US' downgraded military role in Iraq has opened the door to China globally and Iran regionally.

Having a wide range of political, military, and social influence over Iraq, Iran is in a strategic posture in the US-China quarrel. Strong bilateral relations between Iran and China exist in different fields, and Tehran is becoming more dependent on China due to its economic downturn.

Last March, China and Iransigned a 25-year cooperation agreement in which Beijing promised to invest $400 billion in Irans economy in exchange for oil supplies. This reality opens the door to strengthening China in areas where Iran is influential, particularly within Iraq and in the Middle East in general.

It is no secret that Iran has strong economic relations with Iraq, as well as its ability to intervene in the country's political scene and the existence of dozens of militias it supports. Tehran, which is troubled with the US presence in Iraq, indicates this discomfort with attacks on American assets through its proxies both in politics and in the field. It prefers Beijing as a regional partner. Iranian proxies also regularly threaten Trkiye and Turkish military bases in the north of Iraq.

What about Trkiye?

Iraq has geostrategic significance for the BRIs land route that will link the Middle East to Europe through Iran, Iraq, and Trkiye. At this point, Ankara gives specific attention to the project as it expects significant economic profits.

In 2014, China opened its consulate general in Erbil and announced several billion-dollarinvestments in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), with which Trkiye also has close economic, military, and political relations.

Yet Chinas closeness to Iran and their alliance in Iraq will have negative repercussions on Trkiye's political and economic relations with Iraq. Notably, while Tehran seeks to exert China as a balancing factor against the US in Iraq, it may also want to use China's investment strategy as a balancing factor against Trkiye's influence in the KRG.

Taking Geng Shuangs, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, call last December for Ankara to "respect for sovereignty" regarding its military operations within Iraqi territory, it may mean that China's influence over Iraq goes beyond economic and geopolitical domination. It is quite clear that this situation is in Iran's favour. However, in the short term, it is unlikely that even a powerful actor like Beijing could affect the indispensability of Ankara, which is the key country in marketing the energy of the KRG to the world, and its gateway to the West.

Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of TRT World.

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Source: TRT World

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Chinas Iraq investments and its growing foothold in the Middle East - TRT World

View of a damaged building in the aftermath of missile attacks in Erbil, Iraq March 13, 2022. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

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BAGHDAD/ANKARA, March 28 (Reuters) - A nascent plan for Iraq's Kurdistan region to supply gas to Turkey and Europe - with Israeli help - is part of what angered Iran into striking the Kurdish capital Erbil with ballistic missiles this month, Iraqi and Turkish officials say.

The March 13 attack on Erbil came as a shock to officials throughout the region for its ferocity, and was a rare publicly declared assault by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). read more

The IRGC said the strike hit Israeli "strategic centres" in Erbil and was retaliation for an Israeli air raid that killed two of its members in Syria.

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The choice of target, however, baffled many officials and analysts. Most of the 12 missiles hit the villa of a Kurdish businessman involved in the autonomous Kurdistan region's energy sector.

Iraqi and Turkish officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity this week said they believe the attack was meant as a multi-pronged message to U.S. allies in the region - but that a key trigger was a plan to pump Kurdish gas into Turkey and Europe, with Israel's involvement. read more

"There had been two recent meetings between Israeli and U.S. energy officials and specialists at the villa to discuss shipping Kurdistan gas to Turkey via a new pipeline," an Iraqi security official said.

Iran's foreign ministry and the IRGC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A senior Iranian security official told Reuters the attack was a "multi-purposed message to many people and groups. It's up to them how to interpret it. Whatever (Israel) is planning, from energy sector to agriculture, will not materialise."

Two Turkish officials confirmed that talks involving U.S. and Israeli officials recently took place to discuss Iraq supplying Turkey and Europe with natural gas, but did not say where they took place.

The Iraqi security official and a former U.S. official with knowledge of the plans said the Kurdish businessman whose villa was hit by the Iranian missiles, Baz Karim Barzanji, was working to develop the gas export pipeline.

The disclosure puts Iran's attack on Erbil in the context of regional players' energy interests, rather than a single Israeli military attack on the IRGC, as widely reported. read more

Israel's foreign ministry said it was not familiar with the matter. Barzanji did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

The office of Iraqi Kurdish President Nechirvan Barzani denied any meetings with U.S. and Israeli officials to discuss a pipeline took place at Barzanji's villa. The Kurds deny there is any Israeli military or official presence in their territory.

TURKEY-ISRAEL RAPPROCHEMENT

The Iraqi, Turkish and Western sources spoke mostly on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to give statements to the media.

They said the move comes as a politically sensitive time for Iran and the region: the gas export plan could threaten Iran's place as a major supplier of gas to Iraq and Turkey while its economy is still reeling from international sanctions.

Efforts to revive a nuclear deal between Iran and the West have faltered in recent weeks, casting doubt on prospects for lifting sanctions on Tehran including on its energy sector.

It also comes as Israel, Iran's biggest enemy in the region, and Turkey are strengthening ties and looking at further energy cooperation as sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine threaten severe shortages across Europe.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said last month that Turkey and Israel can work together to carry Israeli natural gas to Europe. Erdogan also met Barzani and said that Ankara wants to sign a natural gas supply deal with Iraq. read more

Iraqi and Turkish officials did not give specific details on the plan to pump gas from Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey, say how far along it was, or what Israel's role is in the project.

"The timing of the attack in Erbil is very interesting. It seems it was more directed at northern Iraq's energy exports and possible cooperation that would include Israel," one of the Turkish officials said.

"Some talks were held for northern Iraq natural gas exports and we know that Iraq, the United States and Israel were involved in this process. Turkey supports this too," the official added.

The Iraqi security official said at least two meetings to discuss the issue, with U.S. and Israeli energy specialists, had taken place at Barzanji's villa, which he said explained the choice of target for Iran's missile strike. No one was seriously hurt in the attack but the villa was severely damaged.

An Iraqi government official and a Western diplomat in Iraq said that Barzanji was known to host foreign officials and businessmen at his home and that they included Israelis.

The Iraqi security official and the former U.S. official said Barzanji's KAR Group company is working to expedite the gas export pipeline. The new pipeline would eventually connect to one that has already been completed on the Turkish side of the border, the former U.S. official said.

KAR Group could not be immediately reached for comment.

KAR Group built and manages the Kurdish region's domestic pipeline, the Kurdistan presidency's chief of staff Fawzi Harir said. It also owns a third of Kurdistan's oil export pipeline under a lease agreement. The rest is owned by Russia's Rosneft.

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Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Amina Ismail in Erbil, Orhan Coskun in Ankara, Rowena Edwards in London; additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi and Maha El Dahan in Dubai, Ari Rabinovitch in JerusalemAdditional reporting, writing by John Davison in Baghdad, Editing by William Maclean

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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EXCLUSIVE Iran struck Iraq target over gas talks involving Israel - officials - Reuters

Canada is extending its military mission in Iraq and the Middle East for another year.

Defence Minister Anita Anand announced the 12-month extension on Thursday evening, only hours before the current mandate was set to expire.

It comes even as Canada has steadily reduced its military footprint in the region as the focus in Iraq, in particular, has shifted from defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to countering Irans growing influence.

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The Canadian Armed Forces, which first deployed troops to Iraq in October 2014 as ISIL threatened to take over the country and neighbouring Syria, previously had a high of more than 800 soldiers in the region.

The Canadian mission at different times included fighter jets, transport and surveillance aircraft, helicopters as well as military trainers and special forces troops working alongside Kurdish and Iraqi forces as they fought ISIL.

But the mission has since shrunk in size and prominence as concerns about ISIL have been replaced with fears about Irans growing influence in Iraq and the region, and as other crises and threats such as Russia, China and the COVID-19 pandemic have emerged.

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Canada in February had only about 300 Armed Forces members assigned to what is known as Operation Impact, with about 250 intelligence, logistics and command staff in Kuwait, 50 trainers in Jordan and Lebanon, and only a handful of troops in Iraq.

The Canadian Armed Forces have been working with partners and allies since 2014 to improve Iraqi security forces capabilities, Anand said in a statement.

The Canadian Armed Forces have also been providing training and capacity-building assistance to the Jordanian Armed Forces and the Lebanese Armed Forces.

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The decision to extend Canadas military mission in Iraq comes as the Armed Forces is being asked to contribute additional troops and equipment in eastern Europe in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine, and as it struggles with personnel shortfall.

It also coincides with a political deadlock in Baghdad over repeated failures to elect a new president and escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, with the latter having launched ballistic missile attacks in the region in recent weeks.

Bessma Momani, one of Canadas top Middle East experts at the University of Waterloo, said the decision to extend the mission comes at a critical time for Iraq as the country teeters toward collapse amid a proxy war between the United States and Iran.

While Canadas contribution is largely symbolic at this point, Momani said, this is not a time to pull out. It just sends all the wrong messages. Iraqs just way too fragile to pull out at the moment.

Canadas mission has largely slipped from public view, but it has seen its share of controversies over the years. Those include questions about whether Canadian troops were in combat, and concerns about the screening of Iraq troops trained by Canada.

The Liberals were also criticized for withdrawing Canadian fighter jets after taking power in 2015, while Canadas partnership with Iraqs Kurdish minority put this country into an awkward position when faced with Kurdish calls for independence from Iraq.

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One Canadian soldier was killed while serving on Operation Impact. Sgt. Andrew Doiron died after Kurdish forces mistakenly shot the Canadian special forces member. Three other Canadians were injured in the friendly fire incident.

2022 The Canadian Press

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Canada extends military mission in Iraq for another year - Global News

Becoming a SAP Partner is a rigorous process that ensures a potential partner's ability to deliver on SAP's vision and mission. Having met all the requirements put forth by SAP, Business Line has proven its value in Iraq.

ERBIL, Iraq, April 1, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Business Line announced its partnership with the technology industry giant, SAP, and has been recognized as a reputed SAP Partner in Iraq. This is a big milestone in Business Line's journey towards growth and success. This also establishes Business Line as a trusted SAP services provider in the region.

"We are committed to excellence and facilitating growth for organizations operating in diverse industries in Iraq. We strongly believe adopting digital transformation strategies is the way forward to succeed in a highly competitive local and global market. SAP helps organizations in implementing such strategies through top-notch tools and software. Being a SAP Partner, Business Line will be able to drive digital transformation in the region and turn organizations into intelligent enterprises".

Trazia Gabbarah, Marketing Executive, Business Line Company

This partnership is the result of Business Line's contributions to the technology landscape in the region and a guarantee of its commitment to digital transformation through excellent service provision before, during, and after the sales process.

"By joining forces with SAP, we are more than ready to turn our customers' businesses into smart enterprises that stand apart".

Trazia Gabbarah, Marketing Executive, Business Line Company

Becoming a SAP Partner is a rigorous process that ensures a potential partner's ability to deliver on SAP's vision and mission. Having met all the requirements put forth by SAP, Business Line has proven its value in Iraq.

About Business Line

Business Line is a technology firm headquartered in Erbil, Iraq. Our mission is to help create smart enterprises by leveraging technology and providing unmatched technical and business advisory services. Our services range from the implementation of SAP products like SAP Business One, SAP Business ByDesign, and SAP Analytics Cloud, to providing digital marketing services to helping businesses with RPA, cloud migration, and much more.

For more information: http://www.businesslinecompany.com

Contact: sales@businesslinecompany.com

Media Contact

Trazia Gabbarah, Business Line Company, 964 (783) 445 3555, sales@businesslinecompany.com

SOURCE Business Line Company

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Business Line Company Recognized as a SAP Partner in Iraq - 69News WFMZ-TV

When most of us picture a game of bingo, we imagine a silent hall while the caller can be heard, shouting out a series of numbers while players frantically blot their card with giant marker pens, with the aim of declaring "house!" and wining a prize.

It's a hugely popular activity, with bingo halls around the country welcoming thousands of players each week. Now, while Bingo Loco loosely follows this concept - silence is most certainly out of the question, with debauchery, mayhem and music an important factor in creating a party atmosphere. And it's coming to Kanteena in Lancaster on Friday, April 8.

READ MORE: Lancaster's Farm Yard Brew Co named best craft brewery in UK

It is the brainchild of co-founders Craig Reynolds and Will Meara who were taken by the rising trend of drag and gameshow bingo, with events such as Bongo's Bingo already well established in the UK. The duo, who were later joined in running the business by friend Stephen Lawless, were inspired to set up their own version by the unlikeliest of sources.

In 2016, Will and Craig were backpacking in Northern Iraq and they stumbled across a mess hall of Peshmerga soldiers who were playing bingo with Arabic numbers.

"Not having a clue what was happening we gamified the experience into a drinking game at our own table which soon expanded to tables all around us, " Will explained to LancsLive.

"Seeing how everyone could unify so easily around Bingo and how easy it was for people to engage with, it didn't take long to cook up our very own wild child bingo rave. "

"Our first show, we didn't really know what we were doing. It was five-hours long, the team were drenched in sweat and the audience couldn't get enough and so they kept coming back again and again".

Now, the founders are taking the show on the road in the UK this spring, starting in Northern Ireland on April 3, then heading to a n umber of other venues before reaching Lancaster.

Will, Stephen and Craig have also planned a tour of shows in the United Arab Emirates, have already hosted events in America and Canada and have also expanded to Australia. The entrepreneurs have a background in event and gig promotion, marketing start ups and commercial executives and as a result have a "well rounded" set of skill and experience.

Once they had settled on an idea, the Dublin-based trio got to work to build a team of performers, including DJs, dancers and event managers from a huge pool or people they had worked with over the years. We did a small trial run to 100 of our friends and the feedback was insane, "Will added, who admits they were "winging it" at the beginning.

"It was not the well oiled, high end production it is today mind you. "Initially for the first year we worked hard on making our shows popular in Dublin but it wasn't before long it spread to all around Ireland and we began popping up in cities like New York, Sydney and Vancouver."

The first-ever event was held in a basement club in Dublin and post covid-lockdowns, Will hopes they can continue to bring the chaos, music nostalgia and fun to new places, with an "insatiable appetite" for their type of entertainment.

Will added: "We specialise in getting groups together to sing, laugh, dance, play games and enjoy an interactive spectacle for the night. "Our shows in Kanteena in Lancaster, such a unique and special venue are truly a real highlight for us".

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Soldiers in Iraq and how they inspired the launch of Lancaster's new bingo rave - Lancs Live