Turkey: UN approves $102 million deals with Iraq

"The amount of (authorised) contracts by our firms in the fields of agriculture, communications and transport,food, health, irrigation, electricity and oil had reached $636m as of September 26," Tuzmen, who holds the foreign trade portfolio, said in a written statement.

The minister added that Turkish firms had won projects worth $200m in Iraq since the end of the war, and said that Turkish exports to Iraq were also on the rise.

"Exports to Iraq between January 1 and September 15 have reached $500m despite a three month cut. This interprets into a 42 per cent rise compared to the same period last year," Tuzmen said.

"Our exports could amount to $ 1 billion by the end of the year," he added.

Iraq was one of Turkey’s principal trading partners prior to the 1991 Gulf war, but the ensuing UN embargoes hit the Turkish economy, with Ankara putting its total losses at $40bn.

It is now pushing to play a role in the reconstruction of its war-torn neighbour, especially looking to win contracts for its construction companies.

Tuzmen said the government was planning to launch special programmes and put into practice incentive measures to support and facilitate the activities of construction firms in Iraq.

He also added that measures would be taken to ease passage through the Habur border gate – the only border-post with Iraq – and that Ankara would speed up efforts to open a second border gate.