RI to sell food, medicine to Iraq

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Industry and Trade, Tunky Ariwibowo, and Iraq's Minister of Trade, Mohammed Mehdi Saleh, yesterday agreed that Indonesia could sell food and medicine to Iraq.

"Indonesia has the opportunity to sell food and medicine to Iraq according to the Oil for Food Arrangement policy set by the United Nations (UN)," Tunky said after a two-day joint commission session on economic, scientific and technical cooperation.

The UN has allowed Iraq to sell US$4 billion worth of oil each year to purchase food and medicine lifting its embargo on Iraqi exports because of its invasion of Kuwait in August 1990.

"Both parties have agreed to increase bilateral trade to at least to the same level as before the UN embargo was imposed," said Tunky.

Minister Saleh said his country would use $1.35 billion from oil sales to purchase wheat, rice and sugar.

Tunky said the Iraqi minister conveyed a message from President Saddam Hussein saying that Indonesia has priority to supply food and medicines as scheduled in the Oil for Food Arrangement.

Tunky said both parties have agreed to hold trade missions and participate in international trade and industry exhibitions, including the Resource Indonesia and Islamic Trade fair in Jakarta in October 1996 and the Baghdad International Fair in November.

Both parties have also discussed long-term cooperation in petrochemical, textile, heavy equipment and power generation, engineering, agricultural, forestry and pharmaceutical sectors.

They will further discuss the possibility of oil exploration in both countries. The Iraqi minister also invited Indonesian firms to cooperate in aircraft maintenance.

State-owned PT Indofarma has offered to sell medicines to Iraq.

Saleh invited Indonesian companies to visit Iraq. If they sell goods in Iraq, the Iraqi government will order its central bank to provide letters of credit.(kod)