Turkey gets $90m share in Iraq’s construction

He said that a group of 40 Iraqi businessmen would come to Turkey soon for business meetings.

He added that measures had been taken to ease passage through the Habur border crossing with Iraq and that train journeys between the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep and Baghdad would resume soon.

Iraq was one of Turkey’s principal trading partners prior to the 1991 Gulf war, and commerce was the main source of livelihood for southeastern Turkey, the country’s most underdeveloped region.

The ensuing UN embargoes hit the local economy, with Turkey estimating its total losses since then as up to $40 billion.

Business has picked up since March following the end of the Iraq war as international aid agencies sent their shipments to Iraq via Turkey, creating jobs for many — especially truck drivers — in the region.

Turkey is now eager to play a role in the reconstruction of Iraq, pushing hard particularly for a share for its internationally experienced construction companies.