Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Friday said the country was keen to get more Italian imports and called for the creation of a joint economic commission.
At a meeting with Italian Industry Undersecretary Adolfo Urso in Baghdad, al-Maliki said Iraq had a ''strong desire'' to start importing high-quality Italian machinery for its oil and agriculture sectors, Iraqi news agency Nina reported.
Urso pledged to return to Iraq ''soon'' with representatives from Italian companies in the agriculture, industry, retail and oil sectors.
The undersecretary announced the beginning of a project that will see Italy build new hospitals in the country in cooperation with the Iraqi health ministry.
Urso also met with Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and Industry Minister Fawzi Hariri.
