President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al Sudani on Monday oversaw the signing of a preliminary settlement between Türkiye, Iraq, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to cooperate on the Development Road challenge.
The deal on the landmark street and rail challenge that’s anticipated to consolidate financial ties between the 2 neighbors got here on the sidelines of Erdoğan’s long-awaited go to to Baghdad, the primary by a Turkish chief since 2011.
Accompanied by a big delegation, Erdoğan held talks with Iraqi President Abdel Latif Rashid and Al Sudani. Cooperation on large financial initiatives was additionally on the desk.
Erdoğan and Al Sudani witnessed the signing of the four-way memorandum of understanding (MoU) for joint cooperation on the Development Road challenge, with Qatari and Emirati ministers in attendance, an announcement from the prime minister’s workplace mentioned.
Iraq launched the $17 billion challenge final yr to hyperlink a serious commodities port on its southern coast by rail and street to the border with Türkiye.
The 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) street and rail challenge goals to show Iraq right into a transit hub, connecting Asia and Europe with a hyperlink between the nation’s Grand Faw Port within the oil-rich south and Türkiye within the north.
Iraqi and Turkish officers signed 24 memorandums of understanding throughout Erdoğan’s one-day go to.
Addressing a joint news convention with Al Sudani, Erdoğan mentioned the agreements had been a part of a stable street map for cooperation, highlighting the significance of the Development Road deal.
Bilateral commerce was value $19.9 billion in 2023, down from $24.2 billion in 2022, in accordance with official Turkish information. In the primary three months of 2024, Turkish exports to Iraq rose 24.5%, whereas imports fell 46.2%.
Security cooperation
The journey comes as regional tensions spiral, fueled by the Israeli offensive on Gaza and assaults between Israel and Iran.
Iraq is Türkiye’s key commerce ally within the area. However, relations have been strained over what Ankara sees as Baghdad’s inadequate cooperation in its battle towards the PKK terrorist group, in addition to a row over oil exports.
Türkiye typically launches strikes towards targets within the area, which Baghdad has mentioned is a breach of its sovereignty. Ankara says it should shield itself towards the PKK, which Türkiye and its Western allies designate as a terrorist group.
Counterterrorism dominated Erdoğan’s talks in Iraq, and the president mentioned they mentioned joint steps to be taken on the matter.
Erdoğan informed Rashid that Türkiye “had expectations from Iraq in the battle with the PKK terrorist organization, that Iraq must eradicate all sorts of terror.”
He acknowledged they determined to arrange joint everlasting committees for cooperation in lots of fields, from counterterrorism, financial system, well being, and transportation to schooling.
Erdoğan mentioned Türkiye appreciated Iraq’s transfer to declare PKK a banned group and was able to endorse any steps Baghdad would take to declare it as a terrorist group.
“We will move forward in (the fight) against the PKK together,” he mentioned. “The PKK’s presence in Iraq will end soon,” he added. Erdoğan famous that Türkiye can’t permit assaults from Iraqi soil to a different nation.
Oil exports
After conferences in Baghdad, Erdoğan was set to journey to Irbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), a semi-autonomous entity controlling Iraq’s north.
The go to was additionally anticipated to weigh on the dispute over oil exports from the KRG, which has been a selected sticking level.
The Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which as soon as dealt with about 0.5% of worldwide oil provide, has been offline since March 2023, when Ankara halted flows following an arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
The ICC mentioned Ankara ought to pay Baghdad damages of $1.5 billion over what it mentioned had been unauthorized exports by KRG between 2014 and 2018. Türkiye, then again, mentioned the ICC had acknowledged most of Ankara’s calls for. Its Energy and Natural Resources Ministry mentioned the chamber ordered Iraq to compensate Türkiye for a number of violations in regards to the case.
About 450,000 barrels per day of crude as soon as flowed by way of Iraq’s northern route by way of Türkiye, and its closure has led to the lack of greater than $14 billion for Iraq, the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR), which represents worldwide oil firms lively within the area, estimates.
KRG exports move by way of a pipeline to Fish-Khabur on the northern Iraqi border, the place the oil enters Türkiye and is pumped to the port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean coast.
Talks on resuming exports have stalled. Last month, Iraq’s Oil Ministry mentioned overseas oil corporations working in KRG are partly accountable for the delay in resuming crude exports after failing to submit contracts for revision.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
