The Minister of Trade, Atheer Dawood Al-Ghurairy, affirmed today, Wednesday, the government's keenness to develop economic and trade relations with Turkey, pointing to the tendency to establish large and joint industrial projects.
The ministry stated in a statement, "The Minister of Trade met with the Turkish ambassador to Iraq, Ali Reza Gunay, and during the meeting, the development of economic and trade relations and ways of developing them took place in light of the desire of the two countries to take advantage of all available opportunities to establish joint production and investment projects, and to increase the volume of trade exchange between the two countries and activate holding joint committee meetings and agreements.
Al-Ghurairy stressed during the meeting, "The Iraqi government's keenness to develop economic and trade relations with neighboring Turkey for broad horizons because of its distinguished importance in Iraq, especially as it is one of the important neighboring countries that it has historical and commercial relations with Iraq."
He indicated, "The trade balance between the two countries tends to be more towards the Turkish side, and we seek to have it balanced soon, under the slogan (the law allows, the state adopts, and the market needs)," pointing to "the possibility of strategic planning to establish large and joint industrial projects that serve the two countries, as well as the call for investment in building Silos, grain silos, and active participation in the upcoming Baghdad International Fair.
For his part, the Turkish ambassador affirmed, "Iraq is an essential partner in the path of economic development, and we are proud of the relations that bind us with Iraq, and we appreciate them greatly.
He welcomed the "resolution of outstanding issues with some Turkish companies contracting with the Ministry of Trade, as a positive message to the rest of the Turkish investors."
The meeting dealt with coordination of the upcoming visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iraq, and the establishment of a joint economic work forum between the two countries in Basra, in addition to the agreement that any positive event within the two countries will reflect on them and their future economic, investment and industrial projects./ End
Source: National Iraqi News Agency