ERBIL, Kurdistan Region -- Iraq and Turkey are to form a joint committee to resolve issues and enhance economic relations following a meeting between their trade ministers on Wednesday.
Alaa al-Juboori met with his Turkish counterpart Mehmet Mus in Baghdad and discussed the economic relations between the two countries.
In the meeting, Juboori expressed Iraq’s willingness to resolve issues between the two countries in terms of trade and enhance the volume of trade and investment between the two countries, according to a statement from the trade ministry.
Both sides agreed on “the formation of a committee that follows up on all matters related to removing obstacles that prevent increased trade between the two countries, and the holding of a business forum in Istanbul at the end of September.”
“The meetings dealt with the facilitation of entry visas for businessmen and investors from both countries, as well as the facilities to open credits for Turkish banks in Iraq, adding the call for merchants and manufacturers to enter economic partnerships that serve both countries,” the statement added.
Trade between the two countries has hovered around $10 billion in recent years. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said multiple times that he wants to double the figure.
In a recent interview with Rudaw, the Turkish ambassador to Iraq criticized Baghdad over visa restrictions for Turkish investors.
In the last meeting between Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in December, Kadhimi said Turkish companies “make up an important part of companies in Iraq,” and that Iraq relies on them to reconstruct destroyed areas of the country.
Iraq also uses Turkey to sell its oil on the global oil market.
President Erdogan is set to attend the Baghdad summit at the end of this month, where leaders of many regional countries will gather to discuss multilateral relations.
