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| Europe |
| Turkish minister sez trade must continue with Iraq |
| 2004-08-05 |
| Turkey must continue trading with Iraq, Foreign Trade Minister Kursat Tuzmen said on Thursday, despite a spate of abductions and at least two killings of Turkish truck drivers by militants, but it is taking new security measures. Tuzmen's comments came days after a leading Turkish haulage group said it would stop ferrying goods to US forces in Iraq because of the lack of law and order there. Another industry group has said it will continue transporting goods to Iraq. "This trade will continue for a country which has to make and develop its trade," Tuzmen told reporters. "For us the most important issue is people's safety. We are therefore taking measures to reduce risks to the lowest possible level and are making the necessary contacts," he said. Tuzmen said goods would be transported in future from Turkey to a secure place in Iraq where they could be stored until Iraqi drivers could deliver them to their final destinations. Tuzmen said Turkey was estimating exports to Iraq of up to $1.8 billion for 2004. He added that exports through the end of July had reached $1.06 billion. Officials say there has been about a five percent drop in the number of trucks going to Iraq since news broke on Monday of the killing of the first Turkish driver. Some 1,500 vehicles had been crossing the Turkish-Iraqi border each day before the killing, the officials say. The United States has urged Turkey, a NATO ally, to continue trading in Iraq and not to bow to the militants' pressure. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 Officials say there has been about a five percent drop in the number of trucks going to Iraq since news broke on Monday of the killing of the first Turkish driver. I figured way more than that, we used to get a 15 percent drop during hunting season. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-08-05 3:51:36 PM |