Minister of Electricity Karim Wahid Al-hasan of Iraq

Iraqi Minister of Electricity Karim Wahid al-Hasan says Iran has started supplying electricity to Basra from its port city of Abadan, Iranian Press TV reported on Sunday.

Al-Hasan said the Iraqi leadership would welcome the participation of Russian companies in the bidding, and also invited the Russian Minister to visit Iraq.

Iraqi Minister of Electricity Karim Wahid al-Hasan says Iran has started supplying electricity to Basra from its port city of Abadan.

There is no question that Iraq desperately needs to build vast amounts of new generation, distribution, and transmission capacity to meet this new demand (and eventually replace the old grid infrastructure), but Minister of Electricity Karim Wahid al-Hasan is an old-style Saddamist who micromanages, has difficulty delegating authority or making major decisions, and is a non-aligned Shi'a who lacks the political base to back him against stronger foes in the government.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Electricity Minister Karim Wahid al-Hasan said that they expected more cooperation from Turkey in regard to reconstruction of Iraq.