The economy of Iraq is dominated by the oil sector, which has provided about 99.7% of foreign exchange earnings during its modern history. As of 2021, the oil sector provides about 92% of foreign exchange earnings. Iraq's hitherto agrarian economy underwent rapid development following the 14 July Revolution (1958) which overthrew the Hashemite Iraqi monarchy. It had become the third-largest economy in the Middle East by 1980. This occurred in part because of the Iraqi government's successful industrialization and infrastructure development initiatives in the 1970s, which included irrigation projects, railway and highway construction, and rural electrification.
The Oil-for-Food Programme (OIP), established by the United Nations in 1995 was established to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs for ordinary Iraqi citizens without allowing Iraq to boost its military capabilities.
Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, nicknamed "Mr Five Per Cent", was a British-Armenian businessman and philanthropist. He played a major role in making the petroleum reserves of the Middle East available to Western development and is credited with being the first person to exploit Iraqi oil. Gulbenkian travelled extensively and lived in a number of cities including Istanbul, London, Paris and Lisbon.
The Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), formerly known as the Turkish Petroleum Company (TPC), is an oil company that had a virtual monopoly on all oil exploration and production in Iraq between 1925 and 1961. It is jointly owned by some of the world's largest oil companies and headquartered in London, England. However, today it is only a paper entity with historical rights and plays no part in the modern development of Middle Eastern oil.
The Baghdad railway, also known as the Berlin–Baghdad railway, was started in 1903 to connect Berlin with the then Ottoman city of Baghdad, from where the Germans wanted to establish a port on the Persian Gulf, with a 1,600-kilometre (1,000 mi) line through modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.
The economy of the Middle East is very diverse, with national economies ranging from hydrocarbon-exporting rentiers to centralized socialist economies and free-market economies. The region is best known for oil production and export, which significantly impacts the entire region through the wealth it generates and through labor utilization. In recent years, many of the countries in the region have undertaken efforts to diversify their economies.
Enka İnşaat ve Sanayi A.Ş. is a Turkish engineering and construction company based in Istanbul. Enka provides construction and engineering services through its subsidiaries in approximately 30 countries across the world. As of 2017, Enka was the largest construction company in Turkey.
Iran–Turkey relations are the bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Turkey. The two states' relationship is complex and characterized by periods of both tension and cooperation, as both Iran and Turkey are fighting for influence in the Middle East through supporting opposing proxies as part of a proxy conflict. The two countries are also major trade partners and are perceived as mutually interdependent due to geographical proximity as well as historically shared cultural, linguistic, and ethnic traits.
Çalık Holding is a Turkish company that has been operating in the energy, construction, mining, textile, finance, and telecom sectors since the 1980s. Founder and chairman Ahmet Çalık began his business career in the textile industry, founding Orta Doğu Tekstil in 1981 and Çalık Denim in 1987. During the early-1990s independence of CIS countries, he made his first foreign investments and founded Gap Pazarlama and Gap İnşaat. These companies were brought together as Çalık Holding in 1997. The umbrella company founded Çalık Enerji in 1998 and Aktif Bank in 1999, to enter the energy and finance sectors.
China–Iraq relations is the bilateral relationship between China and Iraq. Relations between both countries still remain very close and friendly. Iraq is a major destination for Chinese investment in the Middle East and China is the biggest buyer of Iraqi oil.
Economy in Kurdistan Region consists of the autonomous economy in Kurdistan region in northern Iraq. The Kurdistan region's economy is dominated by the oil industry, agriculture and tourism. Since late 2016, the standard of living in Kurdistan Region has been lower than the rest of Iraq.
Berat Albayrak is a Turkish businessman and politician, and the son-in-law of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He is a former CEO of Çalık Holding. He was a member of parliament from Istanbul in the 25th, 26th and 27th legislative sessions. He served as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources in the 64th and 65th government of Turkey and was the Minister of Finance and Treasury in the 66th government until his unexpected resignation on 8 November 2020 citing health reasons. His resignation was officially accepted on 9 November and he was succeeded by Lütfi Elvan on 10 November. In 2004, he married the daughter of Turkish president Erdoğan. Albayrak has been accused of involvement in oil production and smuggling in the Islamic State.
Albayrak Group is a Turkish multinational conglomerate company based in Istanbul, Turkey. For the first three decades it was a construction company, but since 1982 it has expanded into other sectors, including transport and logistics, waste management, and media. It acquired the Yeni Şafak newspaper in 1997.
Iraq was the world's 5th largest oil producer in 2009, and has the world's fifth largest proven petroleum reserves. Just a fraction of Iraq's known fields are in development, and Iraq may be one of the few places left where vast reserves, proven and unknown, have barely been exploited. Iraq's energy sector is heavily based upon oil, with approximately 94 percent of its energy needs met with petroleum. In addition, crude oil export revenues accounted for over two-thirds of GDP in 2009. Iraq's oil sector has suffered over the past several decades from sanctions and wars, and its oil infrastructure is in need of modernization and investment. As of June 30, 2010, the United States had allocated US$2.05 billion to the Iraqi oil and gas sector to begin this modernization, but ended its direct involvement as of the first quarter of 2008. According to reports by various U.S. government agencies, multilateral institutions and other international organizations, long-term Iraq reconstruction costs could reach $100 billion (US) or higher.
On 22 September 2014, the United States intervened in the Syrian civil war to fight the Islamic State as part of Operation Inherent Resolve in the international war against the Islamic State. The U.S. also supports the Syrian rebels and the Syrian Democratic Forces against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
Oil production and smuggling was the largest source of revenue for the finances of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq until the complete loss of its territory in 2019. Most oil extracted was distributed for use within the Islamic State, but some was also smuggled to surrounding states at below market price.
Since 2012, the Islamic State (IS) has produced annual reports giving numerical information on its operations, somewhat in the style of corporate reports, seemingly in a bid to encourage potential donors.
Eren Erdem is a Turkish writer and politician from the Republican People's Party (CHP), who has served as a Member of Parliament for İstanbul since 7 June 2015.
Esra Erdoğan Albayrak is a Turkish sociologist. She is the daughter of the 12th President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the wife of the 66th Minister of Finance and Treasury, Berat Albayrak.
As of September 2023, Turkish Airlines operates a fleet of 429 Airbus and Boeing aircraft. The airline started its operations in 1933 with only five planes. In 1945, the airline bought over 30 cheap Douglas DC-3 and Douglas C-47s used in the Second World War from the United States of America. The DC-3s had numerous issues regarding their safety, but remained in the fleet until 1967. The first jet-engined aircraft, a leased McDonnell Douglas DC-9, joined the fleet in the same year. In 1972, several McDonnell Douglas DC-10s were acquired, becoming the first wide-body aircraft of the carrier. Fokker F28 Fellowships also joined the fleet the same year. Boeing 727s were added two years later. With the Airbus A310 joining in 1985, Douglas DC-10 and Fokker F28s were transferred to Boğaziçi Hava Taşımacılığı to standardize the fleet. After evaluating the Boeing 747, McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and the Airbus A340, the carrier chose the latter as the replacement of the DC-10.
