RIYADH, 10 July — A Saudi business delegation is expected to visit Baghdad soon to discuss prospects of strengthening commercial and industrial cooperation between the two countries, an informed source at the Exports Promotion Center told Arab News.
The source said that a request has already been forwarded to higher authorities to nam the delegation.
“The center expects that Saudi businessmen would be allowed to take part in Iraqi trade exhibitions without prior permission,” the source pointed out.
The fair will focus on Saudi companies in the food, agricultural and pharmaceutical sectors, Ath-Thawra newspaper quoted a ministry spokesman as saying.
“The Saudi fair will contribute to the development of bilateral economic and trade relations,” the spokesman said.
Baghdad is to host a Saudi trade fair in September for the first time since diplomatic relations between the two countries were broken in 1991, the Iraqi trade ministry said in remarks that were published yesterday.
The Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry has received a request from the Federation of Iraqi Chambers to facilitate visit by a group of Iraqi businessmen to the Kingdom as part of moves to normalize business ties between the two Arab neighbors.
The Saudi source expected that Baghdad would take further steps to strengthen relations with Riyadh and would send an official delegation to convince the Kingdom in order to sign a free-trade zone agreement. Iraq has already concluded such 10 accords with Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Lebanon, Qatar, Oman, the UAE, Sudan, Yemen and Tunisia.
Saudi businessmen will soon be able to use the Arar border post to export their products or re-export non-Saudi products. The opening of Arar post is expected to boost Saudi exports to Iraq.
Saudi exporters now send their goods through Jordan and this has increased their transport cost by eight to 10 percent.
Saudi companies are expected to receive more Iraqi contracts as ties normalize.
Saudi exporters are awaiting approval from a United Nations committee to win new export deals worth SR242 million this year as part of the oil-for-food and medicine program approved by the organization.
Saudi exports to Iraq include mostly foodstuffs, chemicals, medicine, spare parts and plastic and paper products.
According to official figures, Iraq has imported more than $1 billion worth of goods from Saudi Arabia within the framework of its oil-for-food program with the United Nations, in force since December 1996.
Official Iraqi statistics indicate that more than 50 percent of the country’s trade under the UN program was with Arab countries.
Since the oil-for- food and medicine program was introduced in 1997, Baghdad has signed contracts worth $10.6 billion with Arab countries until the middle of last year.
Egypt received the highest amount of $2.4 billion, followed by Jordan ($2.23 billion), the UAE ($2.08 billion), Tunisia ($1.7 billion), Saudi Arabia ($638 million), Syria ($547 million) and Lebanon ($510 million).
