Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat met with Iraqi Trade Minister Etir Dawood Salman Al-Ghreyri at the Türkiye-Iraq Round Table meeting held in the capital on May 8, and during the meeting, the further development of economic and commercial relations between the two countries was among the prioritized goals.
At the meeting, where the projects carried out by Turkish contractors in Iraq were also discussed, it was pointed out that the Turkish private sector is ready to contribute to the country's redevelopment and reconstruction.
Cooperation opportunities in many sectors were discussed
Bolat told AA correspondent after the meeting that he and his Iraqi counterpart Al-Greyri discussed cooperation opportunities in many sectors, especially trade, logistics, customs and investment.
Stating that the field of contracting came to the fore during the meeting, Bolat stated that Turkish contracting companies have achieved great success in Iraq by undertaking 1130 projects and a total of USD 35.3 billion worth of construction work.
Bolat noted that they expect the strong performance to be carried even higher with new and comprehensive projects, especially the Development Road Project, in the coming period and stated, “Our companies are focusing on important projects in areas such as housing, administrative buildings, health and education structures, transportation infrastructure projects, water supply and treatment centers, especially in the construction of industrial facilities including power plants and factories.”
"We carried out constructive dialogue to remove technical and customs barriers"
Bolat pointed out that Türkiye has free trade agreements (FTAs) in force with many countries and is the 10th country with the widest free trade network in the world, and emphasized that they are open to cooperation with willing countries in this field.
Bolat explained that they are conducting a constructive dialogue with his counterpart Al-Greyri on the removal of technical and customs barriers to mutual trade. Bolat reminded that they welcomed Iraq's implementation of the Truck Contract as of April 1 and added, “However, we clearly stated to our interlocutors that practices such as re-checking the vehicles sealed at the border in Mosul slow down the flow of trade and that this issue should be re-evaluated. All these steps will enable the trade between the two countries to progress more efficiently, transparently and quickly, and will pave the way for our private sectors.”
Bolat underlined that the two countries showed a strong will to improve trade and economic relations between the two countries and announced that the protocols to improve trade with Iraq will be evaluated at the "2nd Term Meeting of the Türkiye-Iraq Joint Economic and Trade Committee" planned to be held in Baghdad this year.
Stating that they support the Turkish private sector to benefit from investment opportunities in Iraq, Bolat stated, "Our Ministry offers various support mechanisms for both goods and service exporters. All processes regarding these supports are shared with our companies in a detailed and easy-to-understand manner via the ‘https://www.kolayihracat.gov.tr/’ website."
A qualified trade delegation is expected to go to Iraq in May
Bolat, under the coordination of the Ministry, Türkiye Exporters Assembly (TIM) and İstanbul Mineral and Metals Exporters' Associations (IMMIB) General Secretariat organization, a qualified trade delegation is planned to go to Erbil, Iraq on May 25-29.
Stating that qualified business meetings will be held between the business people of the two countries here, Bolat emphasized that they aim to increase Türkiye's exports to Iraq and to make imports from Iraq to Türkiye more diverse and balanced.
Bolat mentioned that they have included 9 international fairs to be held in Iraq this year within the scope of the support program and noted that they will also hold national participation in AQAR FAIR 2025 (Iraq International Real Estate, Investment and Building Materials Fair) to be held in Baghdad on May 21.
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