By John Lee.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq in Beijing, Mr. Shorsh Khalid Saeed, met with the Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Mr. Chen Xiaofeng and his accompanying delegation, at the Embassy headquarters.
According to a statement from Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Saeed commended the efforts of the Council in facilitating the procedures for authenticating commercial documents and enhancing cooperation with the embassy in this field, stressing the serious work between the Iraqi and Chinese sides to facilitate trade exchange between the two countries. The Ambassador indicated that the volume of trade exchange between Iraq and China reached 50 billion dollars during 2023, with expectations that this number will increase to about 60 billion dollars in 2024, reflecting China's position as Iraq's first trading partner.
The Ambassador stressed that the initiatives presented by the Chinese side are of great importance to Iraq, noting that Iraq joined the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative since 2015, in addition to Iraq's launch of the Development Road project. These initiatives are of importance to both parties and to the international community as a whole. The Ambassador indicated that many Chinese companies operate in Iraq in the fields of oil, electricity generation, infrastructure and communications, expressing the Iraqi side's willingness to expand cooperation to include other fields.
On his part the Chairman of the Council Mr. Xiaofeng, explained that the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade was established in 1952 as a national body for promoting foreign trade and foreign investment. He pointed out that the Council includes 1,182 local branches in various Chinese provinces, includes about 70,000 member companies across China, and has 33 international branches around the world. The Chairman of the Council confirmed his desire to open a new branch of the Council in Iraq. He added that the Council organizes many Fairs in China to promote international trade, welcoming the participation of Iraqi companies in these Fairs, and urging Chinese companies to participate in exhibitions held in Iraq. He also extended an invitation to the Ambassador to attend the opening session of the upcoming Fair, which will be held in Beijing from November 26 to 30, 2024.
(Source: MOFA)
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