The FINANCIAL — Turkish-Iraqi relations, which are based on full cooperation, will develop even further after the Iraqi elections in March, and Turkey will be a significant trade partner for Iraq, Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Murat Özçelik has said, according to Today's Zaman.
Over the weekend, Özçelik addressed a large group of Turkish businessmen at the Institute of Strategic Thinking and spoke about business opportunities in Iraq, which he said was going through a major restructuring process.
Özçelik advised the businessmen to search for new opportunities in Iraq now and prepare to turn these opportunities into investments after the Iraqi elections, which will be held on March 7.
“Until the elections, search for opportunities, find out whom you have to contact, find a trustworthy local partner and we’ll support you fully,” Özçelik told the Turkish businessmen.
He also added that very soon the Turkish Embassy in Iraq and the consulates of Turkey — in Mosul, Basra and soon in Arbil — will be structured in a way that will fully back Turkish businessmen.
“When you come to us with a concrete business plan, we will help to you from the very beginning. We will pick you up from the airport, we will organize your meetings, we will check the credentials of your local partner and we will supply your security.”
Özçelik added that every country in the world is trying to show its soft power in Iraq and this is why competition in the field of business will be very harsh.
“You should develop projects that are competitive,” Özçelik said.
He also warned the businessmen that if they want to conduct business in Iraq, they should act in accordance with a plan.
“Please don’t come to us saying, ‘You have good relations with this and that person, so tell them to give us a job.’ What we are expecting from you is to find an opportunity, form a plan and ask for our support. Then we will fully support you,” he said.
He also asked businessmen to act responsibly and keep their promises in order to avoid harming the reputation of Turkish businesses.
“I hope we will not have any negative situations like entering into a contract, taking money, investing this money in Turkey and then not finishing the business in Iraq. Such a situation will harm the reputation of Turkish businesses in Iraq. But also keep in mind, if you do your job in Iraq in a good manner, new contracts will follow. There are many good examples of this,” Özçelik said.
He also warned the businessmen about corruption in Iraq.
“Unfortunately, it is a fact, and in this case, you have to be sure about your local partner,” he said.
Özçelik added that Turkey’s political relations with every political group in Iraq are very good, noting that this is a basic principle of Turkey in Iraq.
He underlined that there is no reason to worry about the future of Iraq because it will not be divided.
“In the past, different groups had difficulties and partitioning of Iraq was mentioned, but the situation is totally different now. These different political groups are not looking for ways to separate but are looking for ways to be powerful in Baghdad,” he said.
He added that whatever the results of the elections, there will be a national coalition in Iraq, and since Turkey has good relations with all the groups in Iraq, Turkish-Iraqi political relations will not face any problem and will develop even further since there is political will for this on both sides.
He recalled that Turkey and Iraq decided to develop strategic relations and established mechanisms for this, including frequent meetings among high-level officials in every field.
“When the ministers are meeting regularly, problems that might take time to solve can be solved rapidly, and this is very useful for Turkish businesses as we have seen examples in the past,” he said.
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