ANKARA - Foreign Trade Undersecretary Tuncer Kayalar said on Tuesday that an Iraqi delegation composed of leading businessmen came to Turkey to take up cooperation opportunities in studies of reconstructing Iraq.
Issuing a written statement on the issue, Kayalar said that the 25-member delegation composed of leading industrialists and businessmen of Iraq came to Turkey and that the delegation would start their contacts on August 21.
Kayalar stated that the delegation would hold contacts in Ankara and Istanbul between 21-24 August and they would also meet with officials of Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, Turkey Exporters Union, Istanbul Trade Chamber, Istanbul Industry Chamber, Ankara Industry Chamber and Foreign Economic Relations Council and visit important production centres and enterprises.
Kayalar pointed out that the activities of the Turkish companies in Iraq for the last three years were promoted with special programmes within the scope of the strategy of promoting trade with neighbouring countries. He said almost one thousand Turkish companies set up important business connections with public and private sector companies in Iraq despite all the difficulties, adding that Iraqi businessmen knew the dynamism and power of the Turkish economy.
Kayalar said that the visit would ensure once again promotion of the role Turkey could undertake as a regional country for reconstruction of Iraq.
Kayalar said that Turkey's exports to Iraq increased nearly by 200 percent last three months of 2003 when compared the same period last year and noted that it was expected to exceed 1 billion U.S. dollars as of the end of 2003.
Stating that despite extraordinary circumstances which appeared due to war in Iraq, there was a big increase in the country's exports to Iraq between January and August 2003 with the United Nations' putting into force of a big part of agreements which were signed before the war, Kayalar said that according to figures of exporters' associations, Turkey's exports to Iraq reached 292 million U.S. dollars during that period.
''Agreements which were undertaken within the scope of the Oil-for-Food program and which were approved by the U.N. amounted to 436 million U.S. dollars. Nearly 200 million U.S. dollars of this amount include projects of contracting services. Agreements worth of 800 million U.S. dollars within the scope of Oil-for-Food program are expected to be approved till the end of 2003. Turkey's exports to that country will further increase in the future with those agreements' coming into force,'' Kayalar noted.
Kayalar added that more effective usage of Gaziantep-Nusaybin-Kamisli-Mosul-Baghdad railway which started to function recently would contribute to further increase of Turkey's exports to Iraq.
(Öª-EÖ-AY) 19.08.2003