Iraq is to import 29,000 cars, 2,348 taxis and 2,000 vans from Toyota of Japan, a magazine reported Monday.
The sales fall under the oil-for-food program, whereby the United Nations allows Iraq to export crude in return for basic goods, Nabdh Al-Shabab said.
The weekly said Trade Minister, Mohammed Mehdi Saleh, had announced during a recent session of parliament that the contracts were being signed.
Only Iraqis who signed up to buy vehicles before sanctions were imposed in 1990 after the invasion of Kuwait would be allowed to purchase the new Japanese vehicles, Nabdh Al-Shabab said.
Iraq has imported very few new vehicles since 1990 largely due to the collapse of the dinar, and most vehicles on the roads are in very poor condition - BAGHDAD (AFP)
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