Iraqi government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi said that the expected visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iraq tomorrow, Monday, represents a “qualitative shift” in bilateral relations between the two countries and will witness the discussion of “important files.”
This came in statements made by Al-Awadi prior to Erdogan’s visit to Baghdad, and comes 12 years after his last visit to Iraq.
Al-Awadi added that the visit will be a “qualitative shift” in Iraqi-Turkish relations, especially since preparations for it have been taking place for about a year.
It is expected that Erdogan’s visit to Iraq will give an “important impetus” to strengthening economic and trade relations between the two countries, in addition to politics and security issues.
Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Polat previously said that Baghdad and Ankara will sign during President Erdogan’s visit to Iraq “a joint declaration regarding the establishment of the joint economic and trade committee and the protocol for establishing a consultation and cooperation mechanism in the areas of product safety and technical barriers.”
He added: “The Turkish Council for Foreign Economic Relations and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce in Iraq will also sign 3 agreements in the trade field, including a memorandum of understanding.”
-Advertisement-
The Iraqi government spokesman explained that “there are 4 important files on the agenda, the most important of which is the water file and the development road file, in addition to the security file related to the terrorist PKK organization.”
The fourth file, according to Al-Awadi, is “the Turkish companies file, which gains its importance from the strength of trade exchanges between Iraq and Turkey, in addition to other files that will dominate the Turkish president’s visit to Baghdad.”
Regarding the water file, Al-Awadi pointed out, “A strategic agreement will be signed between Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, given that Turkey is a country described internationally as one of the best countries in the world in investing in water wealth by all means and methods, and therefore they have great experience.”
Regarding the development path, the spokesman stressed that “there will be important agreements and things announced between the two sides, given that the center of the path is Turkey, and it will be at the heart of the negotiations, along with the file of Turkish companies’ investments and their role and work in Iraq.”
The development road project includes a land road and a railway linking trade routes in Asia, the Gulf states to the south, and European markets through Turkish territory.
