Palm Security (Al Nakhla Iraq):

Providing Comprehensive Security Services in Iraq

ICoCA Transitional Member since December 2022

Established in 2008, Palm Security (Al Nakhla Iraq) and its 28 employees provide security services to clients throughout Federal Iraq. The services offered by Palm Security include Armed and Unarmed Static Guarding, Mobile Security Services, Armoured and Soft Skin Vehicle Options, VIP Protection Teams, K9 Services, Airport VIP and Meet and Greet Services, and Consultancy in Physical and Technical Security Design.

The company’s senior management is a mixture of Iraqi and British personnel offering a wealth of experience and extensive knowledge of the complex security and political situation within Iraq.

The Challenges of an Unstable and Competitive Environment

Since 2014, the uprising and defeat of ISIS in Iraq, COVID 19 restrictions and the fragile political climate have created many business challenges for security companies within Iraq, with past and new clients reluctant to conduct business in the country. On top of that, the government registration procedures for new contracts can be time consuming and frustrating.

According to Dean Gray, Security Director of Palm Security, “one of the major challenges faced by security companies in Iraq is the intense competition within the sector”. Over 160 security licenses have been awarded in Iraq since 2008, and clients are increasingly demanding services at a lower cost.

Palm Security’s Path to Success in Iraq’s Fragile Security Market

Despite these challenges, Palm Security is committed to being a responsible security company. In December 2022, the company became a Transitional Member of the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA). The company’s ICoCA membership highlights its respect for human rights and humanitarian law, which the company believes gives it a competitive advantage for clients and potential clients.

To succeed in the Iraqi market, Mr. Gray believes that companies need to “[utilise] experienced expatriate management with prior international security company experience and understand the difficulties, funding requirements and compliance to compete with international competitors.”

Although NGOs within Iraq are rapidly reducing their security requirements as insurgency related security threats have reduced drastically since the defeat of ISIS, leading to a reduction in business opportunities for local security companies, Palm Security sees strong opportunities for the future. The political situation in Iraq is still fragile and built on fragile political alliances, and social contestation is likely to grow as the state fails to supply basic services. However, as Mr. Gray expresses, “implementing reform is not an impossible task and this will require international companies to assist, predominantly within the oil and gas and energy sectors. This can create opportunities for well-placed responsible security companies in providing the security demands of international clients that chose to conduct business in Iraq.”

According to Mr. Grey, “maintaining human rights and humanitarian standards takes strong leadership and education”, and the reduced-price expectations and high competition mentioned previously can lead to decreased profits, entailing lower salaries and deteriorating working conditions for staff of non-responsible private security companies. It is therefore important that ICoCA actively promotes their members and the Code they follow to stakeholders requiring security in Iraq.

Learn more about Palm Security by visiting their website.