Baghdad, March 26 (AKnews) – The Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that arrangements for the Turkish Prime Minister Rajab Tayyib Erdogan’s 48 hour visit to Iraq on Monday have been finalized.
Ministry Undersecretary Lubaid al-Abbawi told AKnews that Erdogan is expected to meet with senior officials in Baghdad and address parliament before visiting Najaf and the Kurdish capital Erbil.Turkey’s Foreign Minister Dawoud Ughlo visited the Iraqi capital earlier this year as a prelude to Erdogan’s scheduled visit.
Iraq enjoys healthy economic ties with neighboring Turkey, with many trade agreements operative between the two countries.
A total of 117 Turkish companies are currently implementing various investment projects in Iraq across a spectrum of sectors ranging from energy development to agriculture.
An important 15-year contract was signed between the two countries in September last year for the shipping of Iraqi crude oil from Kirkuk’s northern oil fields through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
The head of the Kurdistan Region’s Presidential office Fuad Hussein said the Turkish PM’s expected visit to the semi-autonomous region highlights “Turkey’s improved relations with Kurdistan.”
Hussein said the Kurdish side will discuss with the Turkish delegation measures to buttress mutual cultural, economic, and political ties.
Asked whether the issue of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) will be addressed in the meetings, Hussein said all subjects, including common security issues, would be discussed “openly, as usual in our meetings with Turkish officials .”
Founded in Southeast Turkey in 1978, the PKK took up arms in 1984 and have waged battle with the Turkish state for greater political and cultural rights for Turkey’s 20 million Kurds for nearly three decades. Around 40,000 people have died to date in clashes with the Turkish military, many of them civilians.
Reported by Bradost Lawin
Rn/Ka/AKnews
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