Baghdad, 24 August 2023 (TDI): The Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan embarked on his official visit to Iraq on August 22 which will prolong till August 23. The Foreign Minister held high-level meetings in Baghdad.
The visit was centred on discussing the possibilities for further advancing the bilateral cooperation in all fields with Iraq and to exchange views on current regional and international developments.
The Turkish Foreign Minister commenced his visit by meeting high-ranked political officials in Baghdad on August 22, where he met the Foreign Minister, the President and the Prime Minister of Iraq, along with other political officials.
During his meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq, Fuad Hussein, the bilateral economic and trade relations were discussed.
Additionally, matters related to fighting against PKK terrorist organizations, water distribution issues, the Development Road Project between Turkey and Iraq, and initiatives to cope with Islamophobia along with attacks on their sacred values were discussed.
Also in the meeting, the need to maintain a continuous dialogue between the two countries based on cooperation with a scientific and rationalist understanding was talked through.
Meeting with the President and Prime Minister of Iraq
The Turkish Foreign minister after meeting his counterpart, met with the President of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid.
In the meeting, both talked about bilateral trade, counter-terrorism, and effective utilization of the transboundary waters between Iraq and Turkey.
Moving forward, the Turkish Foreign Minister also met with the Prime Minister of Iraq, Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani.
Both parties in the meeting discussed the current issues on developing political, economic and security cooperation between the two countries.
While commenting on the utilization of transboundary waters between the two countries, the Iraqi Prime Minister appreciated the recent Turkish initiative of increasing the water release to the Tigris River.
The Iraqi Prime Minister, further called upon the Turkish side to also increase the water release to the Euphrates River.
The Iraqi Prime Minister on matters of security, affirmed that Iraq will not allow any party or organization, under any name, to interfere with the security of Iraq.
He added that Iraq will not allow the use of its country’s lands as a launching pad for aggression against neighbouring countries.
Also read: Turkey, Iraq negotiate on Northern Oil pipeline rehabilitation
Meeting with other Iraqi political officials
During the visit to Baghdad, the Turkish Foreign Minister also met with other Iraqi political officials including, Iraqi Sovereignty Alliance Leader Khamis al-Khanjar, leader of Fatah Alliance, Hadi Al-Amiri and Iraq’s Speaker of the House of Representative, Mohammed al-Halbousi.
Moreover, the Turkish Foreign Minister held a meeting with the leadership of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) and Iraqi Turkmen Society at the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad.
Conclusively, the Turkish Foreign Minister during his visit to Iraq started off the bilateral engagements by meeting with a number of political officials in Baghdad that were centred on revitalizing the cooperation between Iraq and Turkey.
