TURKEY: IRAQI INTERNATIONAL FAIR IN GAZIANTEP

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TAGS: PGOV ECON PREL PHUM CASC TU SY IZ
SUBJECT: TURKEY: IRAQI INTERNATIONAL FAIR IN GAZIANTEP

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1. (U) Summary: The first Iraqi International Fair was held in
Gaziantep on June 7-11, with the goal of increasing economic and
trade relations between Turkey and Iraq, as well as among other
countries in the region. With high-level business and
government participation from Turkey, Iraq and other countries
surrounding Turkey, the fair received guardedly positive
reviews, and raised hopes of increasing Gaziantep's exports to
neighboring countries by as much as 50 percent. End summary.

2.(U) AmCon Adana officers attended the opening ceremony of the
Iraqi International Fair, jointly organized by the Iraqi
Ministry of Trade; Gaziantep Chamber of Industry; the Turkish
Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges; and the Turkish
Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade, on June 7,2006 in Gaziantep.
The fair ended on June 11. Among the attendees at the official
opening ceremony were Turkish State Minister in charge of
Foreign Trade Kursat Tuzmen; Turkish Minister of Industry and
Commerce Ali Coskun; Turkish Minister of Public Works Faruk
Nafiz Ozak; Georgian Minister of Economy and Development Irakli
Chogovadze; Iraqi Commercial Counselor Adnan Al Sharif; Iraqi
Cultural Counselor Jaber Al Jabiri; Syrian Minister of Public
Works Hamud Al-Husayn; representatives of chambers of industry
and commerce from neighboring provinces as well as Northern
Cyprus.

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE OPENING ADDRESSES
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2. (U) In their opening addresses, the chairmen of Gaziantep
Chambers of Industry and Commerce emphasized their hopes that
the fair would develop economic relations between Turkey and
Iraq, and asserted that Turks and Iraqis were the real owners of
the Middle East. The speakers emphasized Gaziantep's pioneering
role in developing these regional trade relations. Iraqi
Commercial Counselor Adnan Al-Sharif pointed out that foreign
investors had doubts about investing in Iraq because of the
turmoil in that country, but he assured listeners that the
north, south and middle parts of the country were safe. Iraqi
Cultural Counselor Jaber Al Jabiri praised Turkey's democratic
progress, and asserted that Iraq and other countries neighboring
Turkey would like to follow Turkey's democratic example. Turkish
State Minister in charge of Foreign Trade Kursat Tuzmen said
that the fair organizers planned to hold the fair in Gaziantep
every year, and hoped that Gaziantep could play a more active
role in international trade in the region.



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PROFILE OF SECTORS AND PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES
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3. (U) Number of participating companies by country

Country Quantity
Turkey 508
Italy 1
China 3
Northern Cyprus 11
Czech Republic 1
India 1
Egypt 3
Croatia 1
Australia 1
Syria 2
Iran 3
Jordan 2
Iraq 1


4. (U) This was not a specialist fair. All kinds of products
were exhibited by participant companies, varying from confection
to heavy construction machinery. The sectors covered included
construction machinery, automotive and related industries,
energy, electricity, electronics, telecommunication and
information, food and food processing technologies, educational
tools and equipment, consumer durables, hygiene and cosmetics,
textiles and apparel.
We noticed that there were no companies from the US represented

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at the fair. The Turkish-French Trade Association, and the
Turkish-Italian Chamber had booths at the fair. According to the
organizers, a total of 65,000 people visited the fairgrounds
during the event; 11,000 people from other cities in Turkey, and
7,000 people from Iraq, Syria, and other countries.

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INCREASED TRADE WITH THE REGION
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5. (U) The Iraqi International Fair can be seen as the latest
expression of Turkey's efforts within its strategy since the
early 2000's to increase trade with surrounding countries. As
part of this strategy, Turkey specifically hopes to take
advantage of Iraq's high rate of demand for nearly all kinds of
goods and services to increase its exports with Iraq.


6. (U) Fair organizers did not anticipate that the fair would
bring a rise in exports in the short term. Nevertheless,
Gaziantep companies are reportedly optimistic that the fair may
help create gradual growth in trade between Turkey and Iraq, as
well as other neighboring countries. On the other hand, a group
of businessmen from Adana's textile sector who visited the fair
complained that they were unable to meet any Iraqi companies.
During a visit on the second day of the fair, Iraqi Minister of
Commerce Abdulfarah El Sudany explained that Iraqi companies'
and ministries' plans were still at the early stages of
preparation, and indicated that he expected greater
participation by Iraqi companies in the future. The Gaziantep
Chamber of Industry announced that it hoped to see the fair held
in Gaziantep next year, and that the Chamber was hoping to see a
rise in the percentage of Gaziantep`s exports to its neighbors
of up to 50 percent.
REID