Iraq and Its Neighbors:
Toward a New Regional Order

Will feature key policymakers, stakeholders, and experts from near and far for two days of thought-provoking debates and discussions on the most pressing issues facing the Middle East. This year, conversations will move beyond conflict analysis to explore factors necessary for stabilization, good governance, and economic growth in Iraq and the broader region.


ISX. The importance of foreign investment & the private sector. March 7, 2019

This year the Sulaimani Forum will feature seven high level Plenary Sessions—conversations between senior international and national officials and experts that examine new regional economic, security, and political frameworks, all with a focus on Iraq. There will also be discussions on major challenges facing Iraq and how to address them: the youth population; energy infrastructure; private sector growth and investment; rehabilitation of liberated territories; water scarcity; and the protection and empowerment of minority religious and ethnic communities. The Forum will also hold five Policy Roundtables, bringing together experts and officials to tackle a specific issue, such as private enterprise growth, Mosul reconstruction, and new developments among Iraq’s security actors.

This year the Forum will welcome H.E. the President of Iraq Dr. Barham Salih, Minister of Oil Thamir Al Ghadhban, Minister of Electricity Luay Al Khateeb, and Minister of Culture Abdulamir Al Hamdani, among other dignitaries and officials from the federal government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government. Jordanian Minister of Industry and Trade Tariq Hammouri will join the Forum for a discussion of regional economic cooperation, along with other regional officials such as former Secretary General of the Arab League Amre Moussa as well as the Secretary General of the Arab and International Affairs Council Muhammed Alsager. The senior leadership of UNAMI, UNITAD, IFC, the World Bank, and major companies such as GE, Siemens, BP, Total and Chevron will attend the Forum. Experts such as The National’s Mina Al Oraibi, USIP and the New Yorker’s Robin Wright, CNN and New America’s Peter Bergen, President of Al Monitor Andrew Parastiliti, and Ambassador Barbara Leaf of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy will participate in the Forum’s plenary sessions. Directors and senior fellows from Chatham House, Carnegie, the International Crisis Group, Middle East Institute, East West Institute, Brookings Institution, and Clingendael Institute will participate in the event, in addition to ambassadors from a wide range of diplomatic representations to Iraq. Please check back next week for a full agenda.