Strengthening the Capacities and Skills of Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs Employees in Erbil

The Syria/Iraq Office of KAS in cooperation with the European Training and Technology Center(ETTC) held a training for the emplyees of MOLSA in the filed of business startup in KRI

KAS Syria/Iraq Team Volunteering After Beirut Blast

Our Team Supported Several NGOs and Initiatives Working on the Ground

The KAS Syria/Iraq team provided tools (Brooms, dustpans, gloves, safety goggles, shovels, Face masks, hand sanitizers ...) to Arcenciel, LibanTroc, Beit el-Baraka etc... Our aim was to encourage volunteers by equipping them with the necessary tools to clean up the rubble in the damaged and affected areas in Beirut.

Iraq Policy Group (IPG) – Core Group Workshop

August 6 - 7, 2019 - Smallville Hotel - Beirut

The Syria/Iraq Office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) initiates the Iraq Policy Group (IPG) in cooperation with Al-Nahrain University of Baghdad and with the support of international academics. The IPG brings together regional and international experts involved in public administration, good governance, decentralization, economic development and security sector reform. The first meeting of the IPG will take place in Beirut on the 6th and 7th of August 2019. The members will come together on a regular basis to meet with representatives of the Prime Minister Office (PMO) and the Iraqi government for intensive consultations. Along the current decentralization efforts in Iraq, its associated challenges and obstacles, the role which regional and international partners can play will be discussed. Since Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has taken office, there has been growing hope for a sustainable political and economic development of the country. Iraq suffers from weak institutions, political and social polarization, inadequate infrastructure and a rapidly growing population. In direct exchange with Iraqi government representatives, the IPG will advise and develop reform plans that correspond with the ideas of the new government. This will make it possible for the reform plans to be implemented with greater success. Thereby, they will contribute to a sustainable stabilization and economic prosperity in Iraq.

Northeast Syria the Day After

KAS and LISA Host Workshop on Strategies to Stabilize the Northeast of Syria after the US-Withdrawal

With the support from the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Syria/Iraq Office, the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs (LISA) will organize a workshop on the economic and political situation in Syria, focusing particularly on the northeast of the country. This is especially relevant in the context of the possible upcoming US-withdrawal from that region- a recent development that motivates a debate on the involvement of external actors. The northeast also holds an economical importance in Syria, given its rich oil resources. The options of economic development in this region will be discussed throughout this workshop, as well as possible ways to political settlement in the northeast especially and in Syria generally.

Discussing the Challenges Facing the Middle East

KAS, and IRIS Organize Annual Forum in Iraq

On March 6 and 7, 2019, the Syria/Iraq Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung will support the Institute of Regional and International Studies (IRIS) of the American University of Iraq Sulaimani by hosting its sixth annual Sulaimani Forum. The two-day forum will bring together key international and regional policy makers, stakeholders, and analysts for discussions about challenges facing Iraq, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and the Middle East region in general. This year, the consultations will be focusing on the relationship between Iraq and its neighbors, good governance and inclusive economic growth, with a special consideration of the ongoing challenges of government formation in Baghdad and Erbil. In the past years, the Sulimani Forum has become one of the prominent events in the Middle East, gathering world-leading political figures, including (Prime-) Ministers and Presidents.

KAS and Al-Haq: Local Engagement to Promote Peace in Kirkuk and Salah al-Din

Increasing youth participation to promote peace through proper social and political engagement

KAS and Al-Haq conduct a workshop to enable the youth of Kirkuk and Salah al-Din to get more involved in the process of conflict resolution and peace building

KAS and Al-Haq: Local Engagement to Promote Peace in Kirkuk and Salah al-Din

Increasing youth participation to promote peace through proper social and political engagement

KAS and Al-Haq conduct a workshop to enable the youth of Kirkuk and Salah al-Din to get more involved in the process of conflict resolution and peace building

Securing Iraq’s Future

Perspectives on Iraq’s Political, Economic, and Social Situation

The KAS Syria/Iraq Office supports the Rafidain Center for Dialogue (RCD) – a leading Iraqi think tank – in conducting its first annual conference, which will take place in Baghdad on February 4th and 5th. The conference is the first of its kind to be held in Baghdad, and will be attended by senior Iraqi, regional and international government officials and parliament members as well as scholars and researchers from major think tanks and universities in Iraq and abroad.

Economic Relations between Syria and Lebanon

Analyzing an Intimate and Complex Bilateral Relationship

In cooperation with the Middle East Institute for Research and Strategic Studies, the Syria/Iraq Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung is holding a one-day workshop that aims to conduct an assessment of how the recent developments in Syria have affected economic relations between the war-torn country and its Lebanese neighbor. The goal is to assess the economic interdependence between both countries and analyze the political economy of the Assad regime’s involvement in Lebanon up until 2005, and how it has evolved over the past eight years. The results of this workshop serve the purpose to evaluate how the new political and economic realities in Syria will affect these relations in the near future.

Shiite Religious Actors and their Sociopolitical Roles in Iraq

Discovering the Relationship between State, Society and Clerical Entities in Iraq

Together with the Central European University, the Syria/Iraq Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung holds a workshop that aims to gain a better understanding of the relationship between religion and politics in Iraq, the role of religious authorities in social and political processes, and the internal relations between various religious entities within each sectarian community. The discussions will specifically focus on the relationship between the state, Islamism, militant groups and Shia clerics, as well as Shia religious institutions and their social roles.