TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad which marked his first trip to the country since 2011.
Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani held talks on security, economic, health, tourism, and energy partnership.
Cooperation on security and the fight against “terrorism” was also part of the agenda.
Both leaders discussed steps the two countries could take against the armed group the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Erdogan welcomed Iraq’s designation of the PKK as a banned group which has been designated a terrorist group by Turkiye, the US, and the European Union.
The Turkish President pointed out that the presence of the PKK bases poses a threat to the planned construction of a major trade route that would connect southern Iraq, to Turkiye, and Europe.
Both sides have a 10-year agreement on the management of water resources on their shared Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which have worsened water scarcity in Iraq.
The Turkish President and the Iraqi Prime Minister also witnessed the signing of a Quadruple Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Development Road Project signed by representatives from Iraq, Turkiye, Qatar, and the UAE.
The Iraqi Prime Minister hosted Erdogan shortly after returning from a week-long visit from Washington where he talked with US President Joe Biden on a range of issues.