MALATYA - State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener said on Thursday that the government aimed to increase the economic potential in Turkey.
Sener visited Malatya Governor Osman Derya Kadioglu the same day and later talked to the press.
''Increasing national income, prosperity level and having economic growth are among the main targets of the government,'' he said.
When asked about the economic developments after the end of the Iraqi war, Sener said that ''many of our citizens have kinship ties with the Iraqi people. We have similarities in historical and cultural values. Turkey's commercial-economic potential towards Iraq has always been high. However Turkey's trade to Iraq was limited due to the embargo imposed on Iraq for the last ten years. Such kind of bans have been lifted and embargo has been lifted due to the U.N. resolutions. Normalization process has started. Turkey will increase both its exports and other economic activities in Iraq. In fact businessmen, tradesmen and contractors of both countries are in contact.''
Sener said that the government had taken as basis the territorial integrity of Iraq and the government had stressed that all natural resources of Iraq belonged to Iraqi people.
''Our businessmen are interested in Kirkuk, Mosul, Baghdad and Basra. The government thinks of opening a consulate due to that reason...We must be in close contact, we must increase our trade volume with Iraq in future,'' he added.
(Öª) 05.06.2003