Trade volume with Iraq could increase to $30 billion: Business leader

BAGHDAD

Türkiye and Iraq could boost their bilateral trade volume to $30 billion, according to Halit Acar, chairman of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) Türkiye-Iraq Business Council, who pointed to the Development Road Project and Iraq’s potential accession to the World Trade Organization as key drivers of growth.

Acar stressed that the Development Road Project will inject significant momentum into bilateral trade, creating a vital transit corridor that will benefit not only Iraq and Türkiye but also the wider Middle East, Africa and Europe.

He noted that Turkish companies, while currently more active as subcontractors in Iraq’s reconstruction efforts, could take on larger roles in the future.

He also underlined the need to shift investment focus away from the Kurdistan Regional Government, which he said has reached saturation, toward Iraq’s other 15 provinces.

Southern Iraq and Kirkuk, he emphasized, hold vast untapped potential. Kirkuk, in particular, is emerging as a developing city with strategic importance, serving as a bridge between the north and south.

While acknowledging that security concerns persist in some areas, Acar expressed confidence that these issues will be resolved in the near future.

He highlighted opportunities for Turkish businesses across multiple sectors, including energy, production, construction and health care, stressing that investments in Iraq’s south and in Kirkuk would deliver long-term benefits.