Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The meeting wherein bilateral trade opportunities were discussed many businessmen from both countries had a chance to come together and further the dialogue between Turkey and Iraq. Attending were; FCCI President Jaafar Rasol Jaafar El Hamdani and many Iraqi businessmen, TOBB Board Members Mustafa Yardımcı and Fahretting Akyıl, Ankara Chamber of Industry President Nurettin Özdebir, Konya Chamber of Industry Tahir Büyükhelvacıgil and TOBB Secretary General Mustafa Saraçöz and many chamber presidents as well as businessmen.Calling Turkish investors to the fair planned to be held in Mosul, El Hamdani, “We want to partake of Turkish companies’ experience.” El Hamdani emphasized his wish for strategic economic cooperation, saying, “Turkey is our strategic partner.”TOBB Board of Directors Member Mustafa Yardımcı started his speech by relaying TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu’s salutations to the guests.“We look to our relations with Iraq with regards to the long term,” said Mustafa Yardımcı and went on, “We want to increase our cooperation with Iraq. Iraq is, just like it’s always been, one of Turkey biggest trade partners. While our export volume was 6 billion dollars in 2009, it was 6 million dollar in just 2010. This indicates that we can reach our goal of 10 billion dollars is not only possible but we are likely to surpass that goal. In this regard we plan on raising our bilateral trade volume to 20 billion dollars in 2 years. This visit has given us great pleasure. I believe our relationship will advance as time goes on.”Iraqi guest businessmen visited the Ankara Chamber of Industry 1st Organized Industry Zone assessments and conduct business meetings.