Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s first visit to Iraq in 13 years exemplified the two countries’ high-level agreement on politics, the economy, and security.
The presence of the Turkish flag on the streets of Baghdad and Erbil the provincial capital of the semi-autonomous and predominantly Kurdish region emphasized the importance of Erdogan’s visit in the eyes of both Iraqi and Kurdish officials.
Significantly, Erdogan’s travel to Erbil following Baghdad reinforced Turkey’s position that it assesses Iraq as a whole, including its relations with the federal government and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), and does not prioritize one over the other.
In addition to the economic, diplomatic, and security outcomes of the visit to Iraq and the KRG, it emphasized the importance of calm, particularly in mending the strained relations between Erbil and Baghdad in the face of the damaging impacts of Tehran-aligned groups in the nation.
Erdogan’s long-awaited visit demonstrated the growing relevance of Baghdad and the KRG in Ankara’s bilateral and regional policies.
The signing of 26 agreements and memoranda of understanding in areas like as energy, trade, media, defence industry, tourism, and security demonstrated that tight diplomatic interactions are yielding results, particularly following ministerial-level visits by both sides over the previous year.
The most significant result of the visit was the work made on the Development Road Project, which involves rail and road connectivity.
The fact that Turkey, Iraq, Qatar, and the UAE have signed a preliminary agreement to collaborate on the project will boost the likelihood of funding and practicality of the $17 billion project with contributions from the Gulf nations.
However, in order to complete such a large project, cleansing the region of terrorism and guaranteeing security is just as crucial as finance.
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