Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen said on Wednesday that all regional countries should support Iraqi people in their efforts for peace and stability.

Tuzmen made the remarks at a seminar titled "Turkish-Iraqi Partnership" in Turkey's largest city of Istanbul, the semi- official Anatolia news agency reported.

Turkey was eager to contribute to realizing peace and stability in Iraq, Tuzmen told the seminar, adding "the important thing is the development of projects which will enable Iraq to attract investments."

Tuzmen held that despite negative circumstances that existed in Iraq during the last four years, there had been progress in economic relations between Turkey and Iraq as the trade volume between them amounted to 3 billion U.S. dollars last year.

Iraqi Planning and Development Minister Ali Baban also spoke at the seminar, saying that there were important opportunities to boost relations between Turkey and Iraq.

Turkey can play an important role in rebuilding of Iraq, he said, adding the Iraqi authorities are eager to benefit from Turkey's experiences on economy.

Source: Xinhua