Iraqi Oil Minister Amer Rashid will attend a meeting of the Iraq-Turkey cooperation commission in Ankara on Tuesday to try to increase trade, a ministry spokesman said.
The meeting, the 12th of its kind, will focus on "ways of boosting trade, industrial and oil cooperation in the mutual interest of both countries," the spokesman said.
"Iraq wants to boost its bilateral relations and give Turkish firms a chance to contribute to its development."
Turkey, a NATO ally that hosts US and British jets patrolling Iraq's northern no-fly zone, has recently spoken in favor of easing the 11-year-long UN embargo on Iraq.
Turkish officials have recently held a series of talks with their Iraqi counterparts to revitalize trade.
Ankara puts its losses due to the embargo at about $35 billion.
Iraq has said it will give priority to neighboring states in import contracts under the UN oil-for-food program for their support at the United Nations. —(AFP)
© Agence France Presse
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
