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Türkiye and Iraq have strengthened their economic partnership by signing the second-term protocol of the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), aiming to increase bilateral trade to $20 billion in the short term and $30 billion in the medium term, Trade Minister Omer Bolat said Thursday during his official visit to Baghdad.
Bolat led a delegation of more than 100 Turkish business representatives from 19 different sectors to Baghdad, where they held intensive meetings with Iraqi officials and companies. Alongside the general trade mission, a separate delegation from Türkiye’s contracting sector also engaged in discussions with Iraqi counterparts.
During the visit, Bolat attended the opening of the Baghdad Turkish Export Products Fair, organized by the Mediterranean Exporters’ Associations (AKIB) under the coordination of Türkiye’s Trade Ministry.
As part of the visit, Türkiye and Iraq signed the second-term protocol of JETCO, which aims to facilitate trade, improve the investment climate, and strengthen cooperation in logistics and infrastructure projects. The two countries also signed a separate agreement to enhance collaboration in the trade fair sector.
Bolat also participated in a roundtable meeting between Turkish contractors and representatives of Iraqi employers’ authorities, focusing on expanding Turkish contractors’ role in Iraq’s reconstruction efforts.
Throughout the fair and business-to-business (B2B) meetings, officials and company representatives discussed ways to increase trade volume, promote high-value-added investment projects, and boost the market share of Turkish contractors in Iraq.
Bolat noted that Türkiye’s exports to Iraq totaled $8.7 billion in the first nine months of this year, bringing overall bilateral trade to around $12 billion during the same period. He added that both countries are on track to reach $20 billion in trade in the short term and $30 billion in the medium term.
The minister highlighted that Turkish contractors have undertaken 1,145 projects in Iraq worth a combined $36.6 billion to date, accounting for 6.7% of their total global project volume. This makes Iraq the third-largest market for Turkish construction firms worldwide.
In addition to contracting, Turkish firms have carried out nearly 200 engineering, architecture, and consultancy projects worth about $400 million in Iraq. Bolat said Turkish companies stand ready to contribute to Iraq’s reconstruction, particularly through participation in the Development Road Project—a major initiative aimed at enhancing regional trade and logistics connectivity.
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