On 15 March the Iraqi Union of Accountants and Auditors signed a cooperation agreement with its UK counterpart the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). The signature of this  important agreement for both countries was witnessed by IBBC President and UK PM’s Trade Envoy Baroness Nicholson, Iraq’s Parliament First Deputy Speaker HE Hassan Kaabi, Iraq’s Ambassador to the UK HE Jaafar Al Sadr and Mr Saqib Bhatti MP (House of Commons), among other guests.

ICAEW has over 60 of such bilateral agreements in place across the globe allowing it to exchange best practice with the countries concerned and to start capacity building courses when requested to do so.

Baroness Nicholson stated ‘ The partnership agreement signed today will leverage the world leading expertise in the UK’s professional services sector to enhance the capacities of Iraq’s private sector, which will be the bedrock of the new Iraqi economy’.

In his address Ambassador Al Sadr stressed the importance of the agreement for both countries and commented about IBBC saying the organisation ‘ has played a major role in enhancing the business confidence of companies working in Iraq’.