Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan takes part in an electoral campaign meeting in Istanbul on March 24, 2024 (AFP/Archives/Yasin AKGUL)
Water, oil, regional security: there are many sticking points between Iraq and Turkey but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be in Baghdad on Monday to discuss them, on the occasion of his first state visit in addition to ‘a decade.
President Erdogan’s last trip to Iraq dates back to 2011. As Prime Minister, he urged the Iraqi authorities to cooperate in the fight against Turkish Kurdish fighters from the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, classified as a “terrorist” group by Ankara and its allies. Westerners.
A photo provided by Parliament in Iraq shows Prime Minister-designate Mohamed Chia al-Soudani in Baghdad, October 13, 2022 (IRAQI PARLIAMENT/AFP/Archives/-)
Besides Baghdad, where he will meet Prime Minister Mohamed Chia al-Soudani and President Abdel Latif Rachid, Mr. Erdogan is expected in Erbil, capital of autonomous Kurdistan in northern Iraq. The visit comes in an explosive regional context, fueled by the war in Gaza and tensions between Israel and Iran.
“Iraq and Turkey have a history, common points, interests and opportunities, but also problems: water and security will be at the top of the issues on the agenda,” summarized Mr. Soudani recently. .
“The main discussions will focus on investments, trade (…) the security aspects of cooperation between the two countries, as well as the management of water resources,” Farhad Alaaldin, advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, told AFP. for foreign affairs.
A photo obtained by the Iraqi Parliament shows Iraqi President-elect Abdel Latif Rachid at the Parliament session in Baghdad, October 13, 2022 (IRAQI PARLIAMENT/AFP/Archives/-)
The Iraqi authorities also mentioned the signing of a strategic framework agreement encompassing “the areas of security, economy, development”.
In mid-April, Mr. Erdogan confirmed that “the question of water” would be “one of the most important points” of the visit, with “requests” made by Baghdad. “We will make an effort to resolve them,” he promised.
Its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan, revealed at a press conference on Sunday the signing of around twenty agreements “in the areas of energy, agriculture, water, health, education and in particular, security.
– “Progress” –
Regarding water resources, Baghdad criticizes the dams built upstream in neighboring Turkey, having drastically reduced the flow of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which have their source in Turkey before crossing Iraqi territory.
Another sensitive issue: oil exports, formerly carried out by Iraqi Kurdistan without the approval of Baghdad, which transited through the Turkish port of Ceyhan (AFP/Mahmoud ZAYYAT)
Another sensitive issue: oil exports, formerly carried out by Iraqi Kurdistan without the approval of Baghdad, which transited through the Turkish port of Ceyhan. They have been down for over a year now, due to disputes and technical problems. The interruption represents more than $14.8 billion in lost revenue for Iraq, estimates APIKUR, an association of international oil companies present in Kurdistan.
The Iraqi ambassador to Ankara, Majed al-Lajmawi, hopes for “progress” on the water issue and “in the process of resuming Iraqi oil exports via Turkey”, according to a press release on the website of the Iraqi diplomacy.
Also on the agenda is the “Development Road”, an ambitious road and railway project, a 1,200 km corridor which should ultimately connect the Gulf to Turkey via Iraq.
This partnership will consolidate economic ties between the two neighbors. In the first quarter of 2024, Iraq was the fifth largest importer of products from Turkey (cereals, food products, chemicals, metals, capital goods, etc.).
– Security cooperation –
Finally there is the thorny question of the PKK.
For 25 years, Turkey has installed military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan to fight against the rear bases of the PKK. It regularly carries out operations against these fighters in Iraqi territory.
The village of Hiror in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan near the Turkish border, April 25, 2023 (AFP/SAFIN HAMED)
In March, Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet al-Abassi ruled out “joint military operations” against the PKK, while stressing that Baghdad and Ankara would work “where and when needed” to establish “a center Joint Intelligence Coordination”.
“The security aspect will occupy an important place during this visit,” confirms Mr. Alaaldin. He mentions cooperation to “protect the border between Iraq and Turkey, so that no attack or no armed group infiltrates the border from both sides”, he underlines.
“This is something that will be discussed, the precise details must be worked out and announced later.”
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© 2024 AFP
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