Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic stated yesterday that the Iraqi officials he met with today in Baghdad told him that Serbian construction companies are welcome in Iraq.
Ljajic, who is on an official visit to Iraq, said that he agreed with his interlocutors that an economic and political delegation of Serbia visit Baghdad by the end of this year and agree on concrete cooperation in several areas – infrastructure, energy, agriculture and trade.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Rowsch Nuri Shaways and other Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq informed Ljajic that Iraq will need to build 2 million housing units, 5,000 schools, 40 modern hospitals and 7,000 kilometres of new roads and that Serbian construction companies are welcome to participate in these projects.
Al-Mutlaq said after the meeting with the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister that there are different modalities of joint investments and participation of Serbian and Iraqi companies on the market of this Middle Eastern country rich in oil.
In the separate talks with deputy prime ministers of Iraq, Ljajic agreed the signing of an agreement on economic and technical cooperation and the agreement in the fields of trade and telecommunications, which should be concluded very soon, and whose signing would create a legal framework for the return of businessmen from Serbia to the Iraqi market.
Ljajic explained that various ministries in Serbia and Iraq will be able to conclude similar agreements within their area of work, which will contain concrete projects on which the two countries can cooperate.
During the day, Ljajic also met with Minister of Trade Khairalla Hasan Babiker and Minister of Construction Muhammad al-Darraji.
At separate meetings it was agreed that a session of the Mixed Committee for Economic Cooperation between Serbia and Iraq be held in early 2013 in Belgrade and that the efforts on concluding a cooperation agreement between the chambers of commerce of Serbia and Iraq should be intensified.
Ljajic visited the Baghdad International Fair, at which companies from Serbia participated, reads a statement by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Source Serbia Gov.
