The IBBC Iraq team of Colin Findlay, Ali Mazhkour, Dr Ali Jawad visited Basra to convene IBBCs Maritime sector group and meet the new president of ISMA, Chief Ali Latif and the deputy of the GCPI Captain Jazim, followed by a committee meeting at the Grand Millenium Hotel and visits to member organisations.

Maritime, Logistics & Transportation Sector development.

In conjunction with the Chairman of our Maritime, Logistics and Transportation Sector Chairman, Mr Ahmed Shaban of Al Zaman Group (AZG) and in preparation for a full Committee meeting, The IBBC team held a series of meetings with leaders of the Ministry of Transport organisations responsible for the Sector. The Iraq Supreme Maritime Authority (ISMA) is the Ministry body with responsibility for Iraq’s shipping fleet and alignment to the International Maritime Authority. IBBC team met with the newly appointed President of ISMA to brief him on members work to date on the development of a Maritime Academy and an MOU between ISMA and the IBBC to support our objectives. Chief Engineer Ali Abdul Latif was pleased to meet and agree to join the IBBC committee meeting with his team.

A further meeting was held with the Deputy Director of the General Company for the Ports of Iraq, Captain Jasim, who confirmed that he and his leadership team would Join the IBBC Committee meeting. The meeting discussed the long-term development of the Ports in Southern Iraq and the impact of the Development Road infrastructure project.

The team had a further meeting at the Ministry of Transport, meeting with the Ministers Advisor in Basra to discuss the full range of the IBBC’s activities in the sector.

These meetings were followed by the full IBBC Maritime, logistics and Transportation Committee meeting, a chaired by Mr. Shaban, with full representation from ISMA, GCPI, The Arabian Maritime Academy and the Ministry of Transport, who along with members of IBBC with interests in the Sector, discussed the long term development potential of the sector, its critical value for Basra Governorate, Iraq’s long term trade routes, with a range of proposed actions.

Basra Chamber of Commerce. The IBBC has a long-term relationship with the Basra Chamber of Commerce, and we visited the First Vice President Mr Imad Ghalib Hasan Assfoor.

IBBC Member Development. The IBBC team met with the AlMousawi Group company Basikat, the Sardar Group and Al Busttan Group.   The discussion covered the current business impacts from the regional crisis that the team will take forward in the upcoming Trade Delegation to Baghdad.

Education. Dr Ali Jawad visited Southern Technical University and attended the opening of the Science and Technology Park. Mr Colin and Mr Ali visited the Cadmus School in Basra, operated by IBBC Member SABIS and then the Ishik School operated by Stirling Education. Both schools highlighted the work they do, focusing on international educational standards, language skills and developing the values of their students.

The visit to Basra finished with an IBBC Members reception, hosted by Mr Ismael Shakir of Al Busttan Group.   Over 30 member representatives attended, ensuring all IBBC members in the city know each other and can support each other’s business through shared knowledge. Mr Colin Findlay thanked the members for their continued support and discussed the upcoming trade mission and Autumn Conference in Baghdad.

Colin Findlay says ‘Convening members and officials together to discuss the business landscape is part of the core mission of the IBBC that enables us to convert discussion into tangible business activities. The visit to Basra enabled us to forge new relationships among members, understand their key concerns and ensure the network is more resilient to business pressures. ‘