-IRAQ WILLING TO COOPERATE WITH TURKEY IN HISTORICAL HERITAGE

-IRAQ WILLING TO COOPERATE WITH TURKEY IN HISTORICAL HERITAGE

BAGHDAD (A.A) - 24.02.2009 - The Iraqi prime minister said on Tuesday that his country was willing to cooperate with Turkey in preservation of historical heritage.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said that Iraq wanted to cooperate with Turkey in every area, particularly in historical buildings and Islamic works of art.
Iraq wanted to make use of Turkey's experiences and expertise on historical artifacts, particularly Islamic works of art, al-Maliki told AA correspondent during the inauguration of Iraqi national museum in Baghdad. 
Al-Maliki said that Turkey and other neighboring countries had done everything they could to return historical artifacts, stolen from the national museum of Iraq and smuggled abroad after the Baas regime had been overthrown.
Turkey's Ambassador to Iraq Derya Kanbay and Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the secretary general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), also participated in the inauguration ceremony.
Around 7,000 of historical artifacts that used to be exhibited in the museum are still missing.