IBBC held its sixth weekly geopolitical and security update for members on April 7th, continuing the series of briefings convened since the outbreak of hostilities in the Gulf.

The session was led by Jon Wilks, Senior Adviser to the Iraq Britain Business Council and Fellow at the Atlantic Council who gave his strategic assessment of where the war has got to. He was joined by Mr Ahmed Tabaqchali, nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs  and the chief strategist at the AFC Iraq Fund. Mr Tabaqchali shared his perspective of the impact on iraqs finances and economy. His analysis is more benign than might be expected, and he opened with the insight that Iraq enjoyed the best stock market year ever until Feb 28th with stocks up 228% over three years.

More than  35 members attended and contributed insights and questions, including Romeo Salvador of Basra Gateway Terminal on the situation in the ports and Edward Oakden of the Islamic Development Bank on options for exports, Sara Akbar of Oilserve who discussed the options for pipelines, Mahmood Scott of London Sky who gave an insight into the routes into and out of Iraq, and Amar Shubar of Management Partners who shared his report on the impact on the gulf and Iraq and the strategic pathways ahead.

IBBC will continue to host these weekly meetings to provide expert briefings for members and to facilitate the exchange of information and best practice in an informal and confidential setting.