New phase opens up for Turkey in Iraq

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Trade Minister Mehmet Mus has said that Turkey entered a new promising era in Iraq in the commercial sense, Yeni Shafak has reported.

He made the remarks at the Turkey-Iraq Business, Investment and Contracting Forum held between Turkish and Iraqi representatives.

“The Ovakoy-Fishabur and Derecik-Mergesur border gates will be opened as soon as possible. In this way, we want Turkish transporters to be able to transport to every region of Iraq,” Mus stressed.

The minister noted a decrease in the fulfillment of new projects in Iraq due to the recent political and economic developments. Meanwhile, he stressed that a new phase had kicked off in Turkish-Iraqi relations.

Nail Olpak,  the chairman of the foreign economic relations board (DEIK), said that Turkish companies should be more involved in projects in Iraq.

Olpak stressed that the Turkish contractors and consultancy firms should actively take part in Iraq’s infrastructure, hospital, school and public construction projects.

"I would like to express that we have a demand for positive discrimination under competitive conditions," Olpak said.

New joint projects are being carried out with Iraq, which is considered one of Turkey’s important export markets, he added.

Addressing the forum, Olpak noted that the Turkish companies in Iraq shared their experiences with local companies.

Iraqi Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation Chief Abdulrezzaq Al-Zuhari underlined that Turkey and Iraq should cooperate and focus on production and exports.

Turkish contractors undertook 1,034 projects in Iraq, where they have been operating since 1975, Turkish Contractors Association President Erdal Eren said.

Eren added that they were working on different models for financing infrastructure and superstructure projects that the country needed.