Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari met Friday with his Turkish counterpart for talks expected to focus on business ties. Al-Jaafari arrived Thursday on his first foreign trip since taking office last month. He was accompanied by five trade and infrastructure ministers, highlighting Turkey's role as a key trade partner for Iraq, AP reported. Al-Jaafari visited the mausoleum of the founder of the Turkish secular state, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, at the start of his first official day before meeting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkish trade with Iraq last year totaled some US$1.5 billion (¤1.2 billion), and Turkish construction companies are aggressively trying to build business ties with neighboring Iraq. «Iraq and brotherly country Turkey have a shared destiny and common interests,» al-Jaafari said upon arrival Thursday. «These concern oil, water resources, energy. These are the issues we will take up.» «Our aim is to contribute to regional peace and an environment of calm,» Erdogan said Wednesday. The visit was al-Jaafari's second to Turkey this year. He visited in January while he was vice president.
