Iraq and Türkiye are expected to deepen their relations when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pays a visit to Baghdad on Monday.
Ankara and Baghdad announced that the visit will witness the signing of a strategic framework agreement that covers security, economic and development affairs and the water and energy files.
An Iraqi government source confirmed on Thursday Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler’s announcement that the two neighbors will sign a strategic cooperation agreement on combating the operations of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Turkish Defense Ministry spokesperson Zeki Akturk told reporters on Thursday that Ankara will speed up Operation Claw-Lock against the PKK in northern Iraq.
On Tuesday, Erdogan said the water file will be one of the most important articles on his agenda in Baghdad.
The Iraqi source said Türkiye has been showing its readiness to cooperate in finding a mechanism to secure Iraq’s water share.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s Development Road project, which it unveiled in 2023, will also be an important issue on Erdogan’s agenda.
Turkish Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on Friday that an agreement has been reached over months of ministerial and technical discussions to form a joint mechanism that would follow up on the project.
He hoped that the United Arab Emirates and Qatar would become a part of it.
Turkish-Iraqi parliamentary discussions held in Ankara on Wednesday and Thursday concluded that it was in both countries’ best interest to jointly act to combat terrorism and bolster cooperation in economic and development fields, with Erdogan’s visit expected to mark a changing point in their relations.
