Iraq has signed agreements with Turkish construction companies to construct residential compounds in the capital Baghdad as part of the Iraqi government’s attempts to deal with the worsening housing problem in the country.
“The Turkish companies will prepare models for low-income houses in areas which are already provided with services and are suitable for the climatic and social conditions in Iraq,” said the UPI news agency.
Iraq has recently asked four international construction companies to construct four 2-story flat residential compounds in Baghdad and in the southern cities of Nasseriyah, Amara and Samawah.
The commercial Turkish delegation, which has recently visited Iraq, consisted of 400 prominent Turkish businessmen who held important talks with the Iraqi officials regarding ways to increase the volume of trade exchanged between the two countries. This move comes within the framework of the UN-sponsored oil-for-food program.
The Turkish Foreign Trade Advisor Korshan Tuzman said during the discussions that his country has lost more than 30 billion dollars due to the embargo imposed on Iraq since 1990.
The trade exchange between Iraq and Turkey amounted to 900 million dollars. The Iraqi News Agency cited the Turkish delegation head as saying that Turkey, soon to become again one of Iraq’s prominent trade partners, hopes to increase its trade volume with Iraq to two billion dollars. Tuzman revealed that his country has officially applied to the United Nations to include Turkey in article 50 of the UN charter which permits the countries suffering losses from the blockade on Iraq to establish normal trading relations with it -- Albawaba.com
