29 March 2011
Baghdad - A spokesman for Baghdad provincial council's investment committee said on Tuesday that Turkish investment companies will play a leading role in a number of major state and private sector development projects in the Iraqi capital.
The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Baghdad on Monday afternoon at the head of a delegation of ministers and businessmen, including the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, State Minister Zafer Caglayan, and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz.
Ali al-Attar told AKnews that representatives from both state-owned companies and the private sector in the Turkish delegation expressed their readiness to implement investment projects in Baghdad and across Iraq over the next five years.
Attar said that the Turkish side had demonstrated their skills and competence in conducting major infrastructure and construction projects such as rail networks, road construction and the development of tourism.
"There will be frequent meetings between the two parties in the coming days to discuss the details of these projects," he said.
Attar explained that amendments to state legislation governing investment in Iraq had attracted many Turkish investors, referring in particular to the 7th paragraph of the investment law which outlines the government's pledge to "grant land to the investment companies".
One Turkish company already operational in Iraq is the sanitation firm Akdeniz which secured a $24 million domestic waste disposal contract with the Baghdad secretariat covering the al-Karkh and Rusafa districts of the capital.
Iraq enjoys healthy economic ties with neighboring Turkey, with many trade agreements operative between the two countries.
A total of 117 Turkish companies are currently implementing various investment projects in Iraq across a spectrum of sectors ranging from energy development to agriculture.
An important 15-year contract was signed between the two countries in September last year for the shipping of Iraqi crude oil from Kirkuk's northern oil fields through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
As part of his iraqi visit, the Turkish Prime Minister is expected to arrive in Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region later today to meet the region's President Massoud Barzani.
Speaking last week, the head of the Kurdistan Region's Presidential office Fuad Hussein said the Turkish PM's expected visit to the semi-autonomous region highlights "Turkey's improved relations with Kurdistan."
Hussein said the Kurdish side will discuss with the Turkish delegation measures to buttress mutual cultural, economic, and political ties.
The Turkish Consulate in Kurdistan Region announced in April 2010 that the rate of commercial exchange between Iraq and Turkey in 2009 stood at around $9 billion indicating the extent of Turkey's interest in its neighboring state.
Baghdad - A spokesman for Baghdad provincial council's investment committee said on Tuesday that Turkish investment companies will play a leading role in a number of major state and private sector development projects in the Iraqi capital.
The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Baghdad on Monday afternoon at the head of a delegation of ministers and businessmen, including the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, State Minister Zafer Caglayan, and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz.
Ali al-Attar told AKnews that representatives from both state-owned companies and the private sector in the Turkish delegation expressed their readiness to implement investment projects in Baghdad and across Iraq over the next five years.
Attar said that the Turkish side had demonstrated their skills and competence in conducting major infrastructure and construction projects such as rail networks, road construction and the development of tourism.
"There will be frequent meetings between the two parties in the coming days to discuss the details of these projects," he said.
Attar explained that amendments to state legislation governing investment in Iraq had attracted many Turkish investors, referring in particular to the 7th paragraph of the investment law which outlines the government's pledge to "grant land to the investment companies".
One Turkish company already operational in Iraq is the sanitation firm Akdeniz which secured a $24 million domestic waste disposal contract with the Baghdad secretariat covering the al-Karkh and Rusafa districts of the capital.
Iraq enjoys healthy economic ties with neighboring Turkey, with many trade agreements operative between the two countries.
A total of 117 Turkish companies are currently implementing various investment projects in Iraq across a spectrum of sectors ranging from energy development to agriculture.
An important 15-year contract was signed between the two countries in September last year for the shipping of Iraqi crude oil from Kirkuk's northern oil fields through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
As part of his iraqi visit, the Turkish Prime Minister is expected to arrive in Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region later today to meet the region's President Massoud Barzani.
Speaking last week, the head of the Kurdistan Region's Presidential office Fuad Hussein said the Turkish PM's expected visit to the semi-autonomous region highlights "Turkey's improved relations with Kurdistan."
Hussein said the Kurdish side will discuss with the Turkish delegation measures to buttress mutual cultural, economic, and political ties.
The Turkish Consulate in Kurdistan Region announced in April 2010 that the rate of commercial exchange between Iraq and Turkey in 2009 stood at around $9 billion indicating the extent of Turkey's interest in its neighboring state.
© AK News 2011
