 |
Turkey, Iraq Sign Memo of Understanding on Trade
Turkey and Iraq on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding on promoting cooperation in the oil sector and trade.
The document was inked by Turkish State Minister Edip Safter Gaydali and visiting Iraqi Oil Minister Amir Muhammad Rashid at the end of three-day meetings of the Turkey-Iraq Joint Economic Commission (JEC).
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Gaydali noted that the memo of understanding would make a "valuable contribution" to the further improvement of the economic and commercial relations between Turkey and Iraq.
Underlining the importance of putting into practice the memo of understanding, he said that the two countries would continue making efforts to encourage the business circles.
Rashid said that both Iraq and Turkey have the "necessary will" to improve their commercial relations.
During his stay in Ankara, Rashid, leading an Iraqi delegation to the JEC meeting, met with Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and a number of senior officials.
Complaining repeatedly about the huge economic losses, caused by the 11-year-old U.N. sanctions on Iraq, Turkey has tried hard to boost trade with Iraq in recent years.
Iraq was Turkey's fourth largest trade partner before the 1991 Gulf War, with the trade volume standing at 2.5 billion U.S. dollars. But the U.N. sanctions, imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, almost eliminated the trade between the two neighbors until recent years.
In 1999, the Turkish-Iraqi trade volume amounted to 661 million dollars, and to 1.26 billion dollars in 2000.
Rashid is expected to return to Iraq on Friday.
In This Section
|