The Iraqi Minister of Transport announces an upcoming meeting of the transport ministers of Turkey, Qatar, the UAE and Iraq soon

Iraqi Minister of Transport Razzaq Muhaibas Al-Saadawi announced an upcoming meeting of transport ministers from Turkey, Qatar, the Emirates and Iraq soon to discuss the latest developments in the development road project that will link Iraq to Europe via Turkey. Al-Saadawi said during his meeting today with a delegation of Turkish academics and businessmen: The development road project that will link Iraq to Europe via Turkey is an 'economic integration' project for the countries participating in it. The Minister of Transport announced, according to Turkish media, that the countries participating in the international trade project between Asia and Europe are working on setting technical standards and studying financial alternatives. He added: "Iraq and Turkey have advantages in terms of geographical location, and this will be used for the benefit of the two peoples." On April 22, in Baghdad, Turkey, Iraq, Qatar, and the UAE signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on the 'Development Road' pr oject, under the auspices of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani. Regarding the large port of Al-Faw, Al-Saadawi confirmed that it is considered a starting point for the huge project, as it is being built on an area of 54 square kilometers and will be the largest port in the region when completed. He said: The port will begin work in the middle of next year and will include petrochemical refineries, natural gas storage facilities, and water treatment facilities. Residential and industrial areas will be established around the port to be the largest industrial and tourist area in the Middle East. He explained that the Italian company "PEG Infrastructure" is conducting feasibility studies regarding the path of the development road project, which will connect it to the Turkish border with a length of 1,200 kilometers, starting from the Grand Port of Faw He added that the highway plan being built within the project has been completed, 65% of it, noting that the total cost of the railway and land road amounts to about 17 billion dollars. Source: National Iraqi News Agency