Kurdish Policy Analysis

By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj | Kurdish Policy Analysis Years of failing public services, compounded by regional conflict and economic instability, are leaving women across the Kurdistan Region to shoulder the growing burden of daily survival. Women in the Kurdistan Region are bearing the heaviest burden of water shortages, electricity cuts, rising fuel costs, and deteriorating public services. Women across the Kurdistan Region are increasingly bearing the consequences of chronic failures in public services as electricity shortages, water scarcity, rising fuel prices, and deteriorating infrastructure continue to disrupt daily life. Long-standing structural problems have been compounded by recent regional conflicts, particularly the war involving Iran, the United States, and Israel, which has intensified pressure on households and public utilities. Residents interviewed in Sulaimani describe a worsening humanitarian situation marked by unreliable electricity, limited access to clean water,...

By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj | Kurdish Policy Analysis The KRG has launched the second phase of Project Bloom, providing loans of up to IQD 150 million to 100 agricultural and industrial SMEs to boost jobs and economic diversification. New initiative offers loans of up to IQD 150 million to expand domestic production, create jobs, and accelerate economic diversification in the Kurdistan Region The Kurdistan Regional Government has officially launched the second phase of Project Bloom (Gashanawa/Geshanewe) , expanding one of its flagship economic initiatives to provide financial support for 100 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the agriculture and industrial sectors. Under the new phase, eligible businesses will receive concessional financing ranging from IQD 1 million to IQD 150 million , as the government seeks to stimulate private-sector growth, increase domestic production, and create hundreds of new jobs across the Kurdistan Region . The project forms part of the...

By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj | Kurdish Policy Analysis  More than 420 factories have reportedly closed across Syria under the HTS administration as insecurity, electricity shortages, and cheap imports deepen the country's industrial crisis. Security concerns, energy shortages, cheap imports, and economic restructuring accelerate the collapse of Syria's manufacturing sector Syria's industrial sector has suffered a sharp deterioration under the administration led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) , with hundreds of factories and manufacturing facilities closing across the country amid worsening security, soaring production costs, and growing competition from imported goods. According to EghtesadOnline , approximately 420 factories, industrial plants, and workshops have ceased operations over the past three months in key industrial provinces, including Aleppo, Damascus, Latakia, Tartous, and Homs , highlighting the mounting economic challenges facing post-Assad Syria. The closures c...

  By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj | Kurdish Policy Analysis Iran is losing ground in Iraq as Turkey, China, and Syria expand their market share Iran is losing market share in Iraq to Turkey, China, and Syria as rising prices, weaker competitiveness, and logistical challenges undermine Tehran's exports. Rising prices, declining competitiveness, and logistical shortcomings are weakening Iran's position in one of its most important export markets. For years, Iraq has been one of Iran's most important export destinations and a critical source of non-oil revenue. However, new figures suggest Tehran is steadily losing its competitive advantage as regional rivals—including Turkey, China, and even war-torn Syria —expand their presence in the Iraqi market. According to EghtesadOnline, Iranian exports to Iraq are losing momentum, with business leaders warning that structural weaknesses inside Iran are eroding its long-held position in one of the country's most strategic commercial markets...

By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj | Kurdish Policy Analysis Iraq faces a deep financial crisis as falling oil revenues and regional conflict threaten public sector salaries, exposing decades of economic mismanagement. For years, Iraq appeared financially secure. Soaring oil prices generated extraordinary state revenues, at times exceeding $150 billion annually , giving successive governments an opportunity to diversify the economy, strengthen financial institutions, and prepare for future crises. Today, however, Iraq finds itself confronting an unsettling question that few imagined would arise during years of record oil income: Will the government still be able to pay the salaries of its public employees? That question is no longer theoretical. A significant number of public sector employees have yet to receive their July salaries as Iraq grapples with one of its most severe financial crises in years. The immediate trigger has been the regional conflict following the outbreak of war between ...

  By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj / Kurdish Policy Analysis Masoud Pezeshkian called a 10-day delay in university salary payments "unacceptable," prompting many Kurdish social media users to contrast the response with years of delayed public-sector salaries in the Kurdistan Region. Iran's president condemned a 10-day salary delay for university faculty, sparking comparisons with years of delayed and reduced public-sector salaries in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. Pezeshkian Calls Salary Delay "Unacceptable" Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered government officials to resolve a delay in salary payments to faculty members at the University of Tehran after learning that professors had gone ten days without receiving their wages. Calling the situation "unacceptable," the president instructed relevant authorities to address the issue immediately, emphasizing that university staff should not face prolonged delays in receiving their salaries. Although t...