Iraq
Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat (left) and Iraqi Planning Minister Mohammed Ali Tamim (right) in Baghdad on August 29, 2023. Photo: Iraq ministry of planning/Facebook
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s trade minister arrived in Baghdad on Monday to meet with senior Iraqi officials to talk bilateral relations and mechanisms to strengthen existing economic and trade relations between Baghdad and Ankara.
Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat was received by his Iraqi counterpart Atheer Daoud Al-Ghurairy during a Baghdad visit where he will discuss “ways to strengthen the existing economic and trade relations between the two countries and increase the volume of trade exchange,” the Iraqi trade ministry said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Bolat met with Iraqi Planning Minister Mohammed Ali Tamim to discuss the development of bilateral relations between Baghdad and Ankara “in the economic, investment, and trade fields,” according to the planning ministry.
The meeting is the latest in a series of talks between Iraqi and Turkish officials. Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Iraqi and Kurdish leaders in his first visit since assuming the position. Meanwhile, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani and Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar met in Ankara.
Trade between Iraq and Turkey has increased significantly over the past three decades according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) affiliated Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC). According to their data, Turkish exports to Iraq in 2021 were $11.1 billion, a huge leap compared to only $119 million in 1995.
During the meeting, Tamim and Bolat “affirmed their great keenness to enhance cooperation and joint action, in a way that contributes to developing the investment environment in Iraq and increasing Iraq-Turkey trade volume,” Iraq’s ministry of planning said.
Turkey and the Kurdistan Region share three border crossings, also connecting Ankara to Iraq. However, trade only occurs at the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing.
The Kurdistan Region relies on neighboring Turkey for the lion’s share of its trade and investment. Like Iraq to the south, the economy is weighted heavily in favor of foreign imports of food and consumer goods, paid for with oil wealth. Trade volume between the Kurdistan Region and Turkey is over five billion dollars annually.
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