ALBAWABA - Taking his first trip in years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to visit Iraq with major issues including water, oil, and regional security expected to be discussed with high-profile Iraqi officials.
Erdogan is set to meet with President Abdel Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani in the capital Baghdad before heading to Irbil, the capital of northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region.
During his latest visit to Washington, al-Sudani said that "Iraq and Turkiye share a history and have similarities, interests and opportunities, but also problems,". "Water and security will be at the top of the agenda," he added.
Farhad Alaaldin, al-Sudani's foreign affairs adviser, told AFP that the key topics Erdogan will address with Iraqi officials include "investments, trade... security aspects of the cooperation between the two countries, water management and water resources". Alaaldin anticipates that multiple memoranda of understanding will be signed during the visit.
Following "requests" from the Iraqi side, Erdogan stated that the problem of water would be "one of the most important points" during his visit. Iraqi oil exports have always been a source of disagreement, with a major pipeline held down for more than a year due to legal disputes and technical difficulties.
Previously, the autonomous Kurdistan region marketed its exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan without the approval or oversight of Baghdad's central administration.
According to an estimate by the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan, which represents multinational oil companies engaged in the region, the halted oil supplies cost Iraq more than $14 billion in lost revenue.
