Iraqi-Turkish agreement to speed up railway rehabilitation schemes

INA - BAGHDAD 

Minister of Transport Nasser Hussein Bandar Al-Shibli discussed on Saturday, with a Turkish ministerial delegation, the trade and transport movement between the two countries.

The meeting witnessed a bilateral agreement to speed up the submission of joint railway rehabilitation schemes, according to a statement by the ministry, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

Al-Shibli, met the Turkish Minister of Trade, Mehmet Muş, and the Turkish Ambassador, Ali Reza Konay, and the Undersecretary of the Minister of Trade, Reda Tuna Tor Kai, in the presence of the technical representative of the Ministry of Transport, Talib Baysh, and the general managers of railway companies, projects, airlines, air transport, and land transport, as they discussed the movement of trade and transport between the two countries.

The statement included, "The meeting came as a complement to a series of meetings and prior discussions that took place to discuss ways to activate the agreements signed between the two parties, including activating the transit between Iraq and Turkey and the rail link between the great port of Faw and reaching Fish Khabur in Turkey.

Al-Shibli touched on the subject of the (ATS team) agreement and the outstanding problems between the two parties, as the Minister of Transport agreed to hold a meeting with the Turkish side to reach satisfactory solutions for both parties.

"At the end, the meeting came out with several recommendations, including speeding up the submission of plans and studies to rehabilitate the railway connection, expediting the issuance of transit instructions, and the Iraqi Foreign Ministry's speeding up to complete the entry into Iraq within TIR,” concluded the statement.