United States To Organize Series Of Seminars To Inform Turkish Companies About Making Trade With Iraq

ANKARA - The United States will organize a series of seminars in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir to inform Turkish companies which want to do business in Iraq after Turkey has been included in the list of countries that will take part in reconstruction contracts of Iraq.
U.S. Embassy in Ankara noted that ''the United States Government is committed to facilitating business and economic ties between Turkey and Iraq. Increased trade and investment in Iraq are critical to the development of an independent Iraq and beneficial to Turkey's economy. The U.S. Department of Commerce has launched a regional program to support the Iraq Reconstruction Initiative under the leadership of Secretary of Commerce Don Evans. Under the initiative, the U.S. Government will work with local business associations, governments, and non-governmental organizations in Turkey to encourage increased trade and investment in Iraq.''
''As part of this effort, the U.S. Commercial Service in Turkey, in cooperation with local chambers of commerce and industry, will organize a series of seminars in Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir January 6-8 to provide detailed information to Turkish firms on how to do business in Iraq. In addition, a large number of Turkish firms will participate in 'Outreach 2004,' a trade fair on Iraqi reconstruction to be held in Amman, Jordan January 11-13. There are significant opportunities for Turkish companies to participate in Iraq's reconstruction, both through the rehabilitation of Iraq's infrastructure and by taking advantage of growing bilateral trade. In fact, many Turkish firms are already active in the Iraqi market. Since April 2003, the U.S. Government has bought nearly 150 million U.S. dollars in fuel for Iraq from Turkey, and the Turkish Government reports that Turkish exports to Iraq have nearly tripled in 2003. Turkish companies are eligible to bid on more than 18 billion U.S. dollars in Iraq reconstruction contracts. Information on those contracts is available at www.rebuilding-Iraq.net,'' the Embassy noted.
(Öª-AÖ) 06.01.2004