ISTANBUL - Turkish-Jordanian Business Council Chairman Serif Egeli said on Thursday that Turkey might cooperate with Jordan to increase exports to countries in the region, particularly Iraq.
The Turkish-Jordanian Business Council convened in Istanbul for the first time in last two years.
Opportunities of cooperation were discussed at the meeting in which also Jordanian businessmen participated.
Speaking to the A.A correspondent, Egeli said that they could not convene for the last two years due to several negative developments in the Middle East, and they came together as a result of recent signals on change in the Middle East.
''We need Jordan very much at the moment because it is one of the countries that are going the enter Iraqi market first,'' he said.
''Jordan has very close relations with Iraq. Besides, it has a quite open border with Iraq. Meanwhile, we can't easily enter Iraq and reach Baghdad due to some different thoughts. At the moment, Jordanians don't have production capacity to satisfy Iraqi market while Turkey does have the sufficient capacity. So we are trying to have our businessmen come together with Jordanian businessmen. Jordan may be the starting point of increase in exports to countries in the region, particularly Iraq,'' he said.
Recalling that total annual exports from Turkey to Iraq had been 2-2.5 billion U.S. dollars before 1990, and Turkish trucks had been carrying Turkish goods to Middle East countries via Iraq, Egeli said, ''later, we lost all of these. Now, we have to start it again in one way or another.''
Meanwhile, Jordanian Businessmen's Association Chairman Hamdi Tabaa'a said that Turkey and Jordan might cooperate in many fields with their dynamic private sectors.
When asked how Turkey and Jordan could contribute to rebuilding of Iraq, Tabaa'a said, ''we have to be there, of course. Jordan has a great advantage but also the Turkish industry has a lot of goods and services that can be brought to Iraq.''
Tabaa'a added that during their meetings in Istanbul, they would seek what Turkish and Jordanian companies could do in Iraq together.
(MS-AÖ) 26.06.2003