BAGHDAD - Turkish Trade Consulate in Baghdad which was evacuated together with Turkish Embassy in Baghdad and which was plundered after the war in Iraq, was re-opened on Thursday.
The consulate which has carried out its activities in the Turkish Embassy for one week, will continue to operate in its old building, which has been cleaned and re-organized.
Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Osman Paksut said that Turkey was one of the biggest trade partners of Iraq, adding that ''it will be seen soon that the speculations saying that Turkey lost its commercial power here after the war are not true. Iraq is a rich country, Turkey will help in all issues to make Iraq reach its prosperity level again.''
Paksut said that Turkish businessmen would make trade in Iraq and that they would develop their investment from Basra in the south to the north of Iraq. Trade Counselor Metin Deger said that their target was to reach the commercial power which Turkey had in the region before the 1991 crisis. ''Iraq is our neighbor and our traditional market,'' he said.
Deger said that exports to Iraq were 800 million dollars last year; majority of Turkey's 20,000 different types of export goods were consumed in the Iraqi market and that Iraq was a dynamic market for Turkey. Deger added that they would help Turkish businessmen to improve trade with Iraq.
(ÖS-AÖ) 15.05.2003