TİM Chairman Mustafa Gültepe: Targeting $18 Billion in Exports to Iraq
Türkiye Exporters Assembly (TİM) Chairman Mustafa Gültepe announced plans to increase exports to Iraq, currently at approximately $13 billion, to $18 billion in the medium term. Gültepe expressed confidence that Türkiye could achieve even greater success, leveraging its existing potential and the increasingly robust cooperation with Iraq.
Focusing on the 2024 export target of $264 billion, TİM organized a comprehensive trade and contracting delegation program to Baghdad and Basra, involving exporters associations and the Turkish Contractors Association. The visit, attended by Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat and over 100 representatives from more than 30 companies, laid the groundwork for new partnerships in both trade and contracting sectors.
Commenting on the visit, Chairman Mustafa Gültepe highlighted Iraq's significance as one of Türkiye's key trading partners. Recalling that the trade volume between the two countries reached $14.3 billion in 2023, Gültepe elaborated:
“There is a substantial trade surplus in Türkiye's favor in our trade relations with Iraq. Of the $14.3 billion trade volume in 2023, $12.8 billion was derived from our exports. As of the January-November period this year, our exports to Iraq approached $11 billion. Iraq ranks as the fourth-largest export destination for Türkiye and leads among neighboring countries. Key export sectors to Iraq include cereals, chemicals, and furniture, which rank in the top three. Between January and October, we exported $1.8 billion worth of cereals, $956 million in chemicals, and $923 million in furniture, paper, and forestry products to Iraq. Notable increases were also observed in exports from our shipbuilding, jewelry, and fresh fruits and vegetables sectors. In this period, 24 of our sectors increased their exports to Iraq. Beyond being a neighboring country, Iraq shares centuries-old historical and cultural ties with us, including familial relationships. Therefore, we aim to elevate our trade volume to $20 billion, with $18 billion of that being exports, in the medium term. The delegation programs led by Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat to Baghdad and Basra have strengthened our confidence in achieving this goal.”
Mustafa Gültepe also underscored the significant contribution of service exports to Türkiye's trade with Iraq. Excluding travel, Türkiye achieved $1.3 billion in service exports to Iraq last year. "Contracting services hold a prominent position here," he stated. "Among the top 250 international contractors globally, 40 firms are from Türkiye. Over the past four years, 7.3% of our overseas contracting services have been executed in Iraq, making it the second-largest market in terms of project volume during this period. Our contracting firms participating in the delegation conducted highly productive meetings.”
Mustafa Gültepe further emphasized the Development Road Project, which aims to connect East and West via Iraq and Türkiye, stating that it would positively impact bilateral trade between the two nations.