The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is arriving today on a visit to Iraq, Turkish media reports. He will visit Baghdad, then travel to Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region.
This is Erdogan’s first visit to Iraq in 11 years.
The Turkish head of state will meet with his Iraqi counterpart Abdel Latif Rashid and with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. A number of bilateral agreements and memorandums are expected to be signed between Turkey and Iraq, after which Erdogan and Sudani will hold a joint press conference, Anadolu Agency informed.
During the visit, agreements will be signed to fight terrorism, as well as to strengthen bilateral cooperation. Cooperation in the oil and gas sector and oil and gas transportation, economic development and water resources issues will be discussed.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s trip to Iraq after more than a decade is expected to boost bilateral relations and give a boost to a huge infrastructure project planned as a link between Asia and Europe, pro-government Turkish newspaper Sabah reported.
Iraq is a key trade ally of Turkey in the region, although relations have been strained by what Ankara says is insufficient cooperation from Baghdad in the fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), as well as a dispute over oil exports, the publication noted.
The focus of Erdoğan’s visit to Iraq will be the $17 billion project called “The Road of Development,” which is supposed to connect the Persian Gulf to Europe through Turkey, Sabah reported.
Turkish Trade Minister Yomer Bolat told Anadolu Agency that the project aims to facilitate trade, customs and visa procedures for transport between the Gulf countries and Europe. The project is planned to be completed by 2029-2030.
Turkey’s goal is for exports to Iraq to reach $15 billion in the near future and $20 billion in 2030, Bolat said.
Bilateral trade between Turkey and Iraq reached $24.2 billion in 2022 and $19.9 billion in 2023. Exports to Iraq decreased by 7.2 percent year-on-year in 2023 to $12.8 billion .dollars, and imports from Iraq fell 31.1 percent to $7.2 billion over the same period, he said.
Erdogan’s visit to Iraq is expected to have a positive impact on the dispute over the export of oil from Iraqi Kurdistan, Sabah said.
The Iraq-Turkey pipeline, which once carried about 0.5 percent of the world’s oil supply, has been idle since March 2023, when Ankara was forced to halt oil shipments following an arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce, Sabah said. “.
