Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a rare visit to Iraq on Monday in order to restore ties between the Middle Eastern neighbors in the areas of security, energy and trade, reports “Reuters”.
His long-awaited visit is the first by a Turkish leader since 2011. and follows years of shaky relations as Ankara ramped up cross-border operations against PKK militantsbased in predominantly Kurdish, mountainous northern Iraq.
Iraq has said such operations violate its sovereignty and have killed civilians, but Turkey says it must defend itself against the PKK, which it, the US and others have identified as terrorist group.
Turkey plans another crackdown on extremists this spring and sought Iraqi military cooperation in the form of a joint operations room as well as recognition by Baghdad that the PKK poses a threat to Turkey.
Cooperation on major economic projects is also on the table.
With a “road of development” Iraq connects Europe with the Middle East
The ambitious railway project is worth 17 billion dollars
Last year, Iraq launched a $17 billion Development Road projectwhich seeks to turn the country into a transit hub linking Asia and Europe with a link between Iraq’s Grand Fo port in the oil-rich south and Turkey in the north.
Baghdad is also seeking a deal to secure a greater share of water from the Tigris and Euphrates riversboth originating in Turkey and providing the main source of fresh water in drought-stricken Iraq.
Iraqi and Turkish officials said that more than 20 memorandums of understanding will be signed during Erdogan’s one-day visit.
Bilateral trade was worth $19.9 billion in 2023., down from $24.2 billion in 2022, according to official Turkish data. In the first three months of 2024, exports to Iraq increased by 24.5%, while imports decreased by 46.2%.
“The visit comes after nearly a year of preparation on both sides to address long-standing issues that have complicated relations in the past,” he said Farhad Alaaldinforeign affairs adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
Erdogan is to meet Sudanese and President Abdul Latif Rashid in Baghdad, then head to Erbil, the provincial capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, to meet with Iraqi Kurdish officials.
Dozens of arrests in Turkey on suspicion of links with the “Islamic State”
The operations were carried out in four provinces
Tags: Erdogan Iraq seeks restoration ties cooperation PKK
