Egyptian and Iraqi officials are looking into the possibility of establishing a joint-ownership truck assembling plant. The plant would have a capacity of producing 10,000 trucks annually, reported Al-Alam Al-Yaum. The new joint venture is aimed at satisfying local demand in Iraq for freight vehicles, enabling the country to rely less on imports.
Egyptian-Iraqi cooperation in the transport sector over the past year includes the signing of an agreement between the Egyptian Engineering Company for Automobile Production and the Iraqi government to provide the country with 500 minibuses worth $14.08 million. This past January, Egypt suggested operating a direct shipping line between Iraq and Egypt to transport trade merchandise.
Trade between the two countries within the United Nation's oil-for-food program stands at some two billion dollars a year, making Egypt Baghdad's third-largest trade partner after France and Russia. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
