Trade value between Baghdad and Damascus is expected to climb to more than $1 billion in 2001, Iraqi Trade Minister Mohammad Mehdi Saleh said Saturday at the opening of a Syrian fair in Baghdad.
“This trade fair is part of the measures taken by the two countries to enlarge cooperation and commercial exchanges under the free trade zone agreement between the two Arab neighbors," he said, cited by the Gulf Daily News.
More than 120 Syrian industrial firms are taking part in the week-long fair in Baghdad.
Syria and Iraq have set up trade offices in each other’s capitals, although they do not have diplomatic relations.
Saleh said in mid-June that Iraq and Saudi firms had signed contracts worth $638 million over the past four years under a UN exemption to the sanctions regime.
Also earlier this month, Iraq announced the opening of a free trade zone in Al Qaem near the Syrian border, following the implementation of a free trade agreement signed in January – Albawaba.com
