Iraq calls on Turkey to help rebuild war-affected areas

By Muayad al-Tarfi

BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraq’s Planning Ministry on Wednesday called on Turkey to take part in the reconstruction of parts of the country affected by the recent conflict with the Daesh terrorist group.

The appeal was issued during a meeting between Suleiman al-Jamili, Iraq’s acting minister of planning and trade, and Turkish Ambassador to Baghdad Fatih Yildiz.

According to a ministry statement, al-Jamili asked Turkey to help rehabilitate war-affected areas, “especially in terms of rebuilding infrastructure, the reconstruction of schools and hospitals, and the channeling of Turkish investment [into Iraq]”.

“All of Iraq’s border crossings are now under the control of the federal government,” the minister said. “This will provide considerable flexibility in terms of trade with neighboring countries.”

In May, Baghdad announced that it needed some $100 billion for the reconstruction of parts of northern and western Iraq recently recaptured from the terrorist group, where local infrastructure has been severely damaged.

Yildiz, for his part, said Turkey “hopes to coordinate with the Iraqi side with a view to facilitating the transit of Turkish goods through Iraqi territory to the Gulf States”.

The ambassador also voiced Ankara’s readiness to contribute to the reconstruction of the Faysh Khabur border crossing, which, he said, would be a “major factor” in enhancing commercial exchanges between the two countries.

After overrunning vast territories in northern and western Iraq in 2014, Daesh has recently suffered a string of defeats.

In August, the group was driven from Tal Afar in the northern Nineveh province. One month earlier, the city of Mosul -- once the capital of Daesh’s self-proclaimed "caliphate" -- fell to the army after a nine-month siege.