Jordanian Minister of Trade and Industry Salem Khazaleh and his Iraqi counterpart Falah al-Sudani on Thursday began negotiations to establish a free trade zone between the two countries, according to dpa. The move was one of several steps the two countries discussed to boost bilateral and economic cooperation and to remove obstacles that still hinder the restoration of trade to the pre-2003 level, according to an official statement. "We look forward to building up special economic ties with Iraq in all spheres, especially as Iraq remained for a long period of time as Jordan's trade partner number one," Khazaleh said. He cited the "difficult times" Iraq has witnessed since the US-led invasion in 2003 as the main reason behind the decline of trade between the two countries. The Jordanian minister urged the Iraqi government to pay for Jordanian goods that were exported to Iraq before and after 1992 outside a Jordanian-Iraqi protocol with the former regime of President Saddam Hussein. Al-Sudani promised to remove all impediments that have blocked the restoration of normal trade ties between Iraq and Jordan, the statement said. He said an Iraqi technical team would be visiting Jordan in June to "settle all outstanding issues" between the two countries. "Lack of security on the highway between Iraq and Jordan had affected the volume of trade with Jordan," al-Sudani said. "Accordingly, the implementation of a protocol that was signed last year for supplying Jordan with part of its energy needs is being shelved until security was ensured for overland transport."
