IBBC Manging Director Christophe Michels and IBBC Deputy Chairman, Mr Rasmi Al Jabri, visited Erbil and Mosul in September accompanied by Charles Walker, Director of Zaha Hadid Architects, Dr Mai Yamani, a prominent author, scholar and activist for Mosul University in London and Wajdi Abouldzeddine, director of Dar Group in Iraq.

The delegation first met with Martyn Warr OBE, Consul General at the British Consulate General in Erbil.

The team then travelled to Mosul in Northern Iraq with security and transportation generously provided by IBBC Member G4S, who are heavily involved in operations to clear the city and surrounding areas of unexploded ordnance, territories devastated by the recent occupation and fight against ISIS.

Together with Dar Group, Dr Mai Yamani and Zaha Hadid Architects, the team spent the afternoon at Mosul University visiting the central library burned by ISIS and bombed by the coalition forces. Here they were very generously hosted by Mohamed Jasim the Director of the Library. Mosul University, also a member of IBBC, functioned largely from Erbil during Mosul’s occupation by the terrorist group, providing what materials and teaching assistance they could offer to displaced students. Once a thriving institution with 40,000 students, 23 colleges, research departments and well-stocked libraries, the university is rebuilding brick by brick and book by book. With generous donations from other Iraqi universities and international donors, restoring this historic and famous institution at the heart of the city will give Mosulites hope for the future, after a deeply divisive and costly past few years.

Prior to visiting the University, the IBBC delegation visited the devastated western part of the city as well as the severely destroyed and pillaged shrine of Prophet Jonas.

Returning to Erbil, IBBC met with Dr Dara Al Khayat, Chairman of the Kurdish Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industries to discuss increasing trade between Iraqi Kurdistan and the UK and future joint events in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Dr Dara is a founding member of the IBBC and long-time friend and supporter.

 

The IBBC team later visited IBBC Member Dar Group in Erbil, to discuss their wide range of services on offer in Iraq. Dar Group is a founding member of IBBC, employing 20,000 staff around the globe with a strong UK presence.