Iraq seeks ASEAN trade

Iraq seeks ASEAN trade

BAGHDAD (AFP): Iraq said yesterday it was seeking to develop trade ties with ASEAN under the UN "oil-for-food" accord.

The deputy chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, Izzat Ibrahim, met ambassadors of ASEAN member countries Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam in Baghdad and told them Iraq wanted to "develop trade with the regional group."

ASEAN also groups Brunei, Burma, Laos and Singapore.

Ibrahim, quoted by the official press, said ASEAN countries "support Iraq's position and will take priority in trade under the oil-for-food accord and after the lifting of the embargo" imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.