Five Jordanian ministers arrived in Baghdad on Friday to negotiate deals boosting exports to Iraq under the UN oil-for-food deal, reported the Gulf Times newspaper on Saturday, citing the official Iraqi News Agency (INA).
Jordan's Trade and Industry Minister Wasef Azar was quoted as saying that talks would focus on how to expand commercial and economic cooperation and raise the volume of trade exchange.
Azar, leading a delegation of government ministers, businessmen and industrialists, said Jordan would soon start work on a 750-km (450-mile) pipeline to carry crude oil from Iraq. The project, agreed with Iraq in 1998, will be put to tender in the next two months, he said.
Amman relies totally on oil imports from Iraq, which supplies it with five million tonnes of crude oil per year, half for free and the rest at a preferential rate.
Concern in Amman mounted after Syria and Iraq signed a series of cooperation agreements earlier this month – Albawaba.com
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