Business

10 August 2023; MEMO: Iraq's Prime Minister, on Thursday, inaugurated a hospital that was built by a Turkish construction company in the south-eastern Maysan province, Anadolu Agency reports.

Premier Mohammed Shia Al-Sudan participated in the opening of Al-Hekim Training and Research Hospital, which was constructed by the Turkish company, Universal Acarsan, and has a capacity of 600 beds.

9 August 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's Embassy in Tehran resumed its operations earlier this week after more than a seven-year hiatus, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported on Wednesday.

The state agency cited an unnamed "official source" in the Foreign Ministry as confirming that the Saudi Embassy in the Iranian capital resumed its work "three days ago."

08 August 2023; MEMO: A dispute between Iran and South Korea over $7 billion in frozen assets is set for legal arbitration, a presiding committee of the Iranian parliament announced on Tuesday. The dispute is between the Central Bank of Iran and the government of South Korea.

09 August 2023; MEMO: The five most prominent Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have invested over $100 billion in Africa over the years, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) leading the way, according to a new publication.

07 August 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has signed an agreement with key Turkish defence firm Baykar Tech to help the kingdom localise the manufacturing of drones, in the latest deal signifying the improved relations between Riyadh and Ankara.

07 August 2023; MEMO: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has accused the US of encouraging smuggling by sea in the Gulf region, in the latest sign of rising tensions between Tehran and Washington.

"Today, the Americans are targeting oil tankers while helping the maritime smuggling networks in our region," said Khamenei on state television yesterday, Bloomberg News has reported. "This is a major violation on their part."

Tehran, IRNA – Iranian lawmakers have approved a bill to establish the Dogharoon Special Economic Zone on the Iran-Afghanistan border.

In the Sunday session of the Iranian parliament (Majlis), the legislators discussed a report by the Iranian Parliament Commission on Economy concerning a bill to set up the Dogharoon Special Economic Zone. The bill along with its notes was voted by 160 in favor, 18 against and 10 abstentions.

04 August 2023; MEMO: American support for Israel no longer serves strategic US interests, says Steven Simon, Washington's former National Security Council senior director for the Middle East and North Africa. Simon, who directly managed the Israel-Palestine file, served under the administration of former US President Barack Obama. He urged the US to reconsider its relation in a new book titled 'Grand Delusion: The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East'.

04 August 2023; MEMO: Russia does not believe a US promise that Washington will help ensure Moscow can freely export food if it returns to the Black Sea grain deal, state news agency, RIA, quoted the Kremlin as saying on Friday, Reuters reports.

05 August 2023; MEMO: Algeria has announced a further voluntary reduction in oil production of 20,000 barrels per day to reach 940,000 barrels per day during August. This comes in compliance with the agreement to limit the production by the 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and 11 other non-OPEC members, known as OPEC+.