Iraq’s Oil Minister, Amer Mohamed Al-Rashid, recently put forward the possibility of Tunisian oil exploration on Iraqi soil to Tunisia’s Minister of Industry Monsef Bin Abdallah during the latter’s recent visit to Baghdad, AFP quoted an Iraqi radio broadcast as reporting.
Tunisia and Iraq signed a free-trade agreement (FTA) in February 2001, mas part of a larger initiative to establish a comprehensive Arab free trade zone, the TAP agency reported. Iraq has two similar agreements with Egypt and Syria.
Before the signing of the FTA Tunis and Baghdad were already cooperating under several commercial contracts authorized by the United Nations (UN) oil-for-food program, allowing Iraq to acquire essential goods in return for oil exports. Tunisia’s government has supported Iraq’s request to lift the damaging sanctions imposed on the country since its invasion of Kuwait in 1990. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
