BAGHDAD - Rifat Hisarciklioglu, the Chairman of Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), came to Iraq on Monday upon invitation of top U.S. administration in Iraq Paul Bremer.
Hisarciklioglu is accompanied by TOBB Contracting Sector Board Chairman Nihat Ozdemir, TOBB Transportation Sector Board Chairman Cetin Nuhoglu, Turkish-Iraqi Business Council Chairman Ercument Aksoy, Coordinator for Iraq Ambassador Ahmet Okcun and General Director Tevfik Mengu of the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat.
Delegation headed by Hisarciklioglu is expected to meet with Bremer and his aide Richard Jones.
Contributions of Turkish business world to Iraq's reconstruction will be taken up during the meetings between the delegation and Iraqi Interim Governing Council Current President Abd al-Hamid, Iraqi Minister of Trade Ali Alawi, Director of Private Sector Development in Iraq Thomas C. Foley, Deputy Private Sector Development Michael Fleischer, Iraqi Foreign Ministry Chief Adviser Sabah Umran, Ministry of Oil's CPA Chief Adviser Rob McKee, PMO Deputy Chairman Larry Crandall, PMO Program Director Tom Gibb, Iraqi Contractors' Federation Chairman Asad Al-Khudairy, Iraqi Industrialists' Union Chairman Kais Al-Khafaji and representatives of Iraqi business world.
A TOBB statement said that the Union had taken steps to pave the way for Turkish entrepreneurs in Iraqi market in Iraq's reconstruction process.
Hisarciklioglu's visit to Iraq has a special importance for it is the first high-level commercial visit from Turkey to Iraq after the war.
TOBB Chairman Hisarciklioglu will present a special report entitled ''fields of cooperation in Iraq's economic reconstruction'' to the Iraqi administration. The report covers parameters of a new partnership for peace and stability in the region.
Hisarciklioglu expressed belief that Turkish business world would make significant contribution to Iraq's integration with world economy and hoped that his visit would contribute to further improvement of institutional dialogue between Turkey and Iraqi administration.
(BRC-AÖ) 09.02.2004