Iraqi Oil Minister in Turkey to Boost Trade TiesIraqi Oil Minister Amir Muhammad Rashid arrived in Ankara on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Turkish-Iraqi Joint Economic Committee aimed at boosting trade between the two neighbors.Rashid was welcome by Turkish State Minister Edip Safter Gaydali at the Esenboga Airport in Ankara and the two men will co-chair the three-day meeting which opened Tuesday. There is a historical and cultural similarity and sufficient potential between the two neighbors to largely increase bilateral trade, the Iraqi minister said, adding that the two countries have made progress in trade in spite of the decade-old U.N. embargo on Iraq. Rashid said that he would hold a series of contacts with Turkish officials during his stay in Turkey to diversify the commodities traded between the two countries, expressing the hope that the bilateral trade volume could reach the pre-Gulf War level of 2.5 to 3 billion U.S. dollars. "There is reciprocal will and capabilities. New cooperation fields will also be high on agenda," he said. Iraq was Turkey's fourth biggest trade partner before the 1991 Gulf War, triggered by Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. However, U.N. sanctions on Iraq since then nearly eliminated all trade between Iraq and Turkey until recent years. Turkish-Iraqi trade volume stood at 661 million dollars in 1999 and 1.26 billion dollars in 2000. Having repeatedly complained about the losses caused by the ongoing embargo on Iraq, Turkey plans to increase trade with Iraq. It was reported that during the meeting, Turkish and Iraqi officials will discuss measures to enlarge trade volume. Topics to be discussed at the meeting will also cover cross- border trade, free trade zones, highway and railway transportation, crude oil, natural gas, industry, agriculture and health sectors. |
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