A delegation of Iraqi engineers will travel to Saudi Arabia next month to take part in a seminar on housing development, an Iraqi weekly reported Tuesday, December 4, citing a housing ministry official.
The delegation will take part in the January 2-4 conference, which will discuss housing development in desert areas and construction problems in Saudi Arabia, Al-Rafidain quoted the official as saying.
Iraq has not had diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia since the 1991 Gulf War, but Saudi firms have in recent years concluded deals with Baghdad within the framework of Iraq's "oil-for-food" arrangement with the UN in force since late 1996. The "oil-for-food" program allows Iraq to sell crude under UN supervision to meet the humanitarian needs of its people, who have been hard hit by UN sanctions imposed since Baghdad's August 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
The head of external relations at Iraq's trade ministry, Fakhreddin Rissan, said last March that Iraq had signed contracts worth $600 million with Saudi firms under the terms of "oil-for-food."— (AFP, Baghdad)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
