08-05-2025
Sudani arrives in Ankara for talks with Erdogan
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani arrived in Ankara on Thursday for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on bilateral relations and regional developments.
He was received by Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat, ahead of discussions with Erdogan on 'making significant contributions to further advancing Turkey-Iraq relations, which have been rapidly developing in recent years in the fields of politics, economy, security, and trade,' Bolat said on X.
'As Turkey and Iraq, we will continue to take new steps with determination to reach a bilateral trade volume of 30 billion dollars,' Bolat added.
Sudani is set to participate in a meeting of the Iraqi-Turkish High Level Strategic Cooperation Council, his office said, while the Turkish presidency said that both Sudani and Erdogan will chair the meeting.
Fahrettin Altun, head of communications for the Turkish presidency, said on Wednesday that during the visit, 'Turkey-Iraq relations and current regional and global developments will be discussed,' adding that bilateral documents 'aiming for cooperation in various areas' will be signed.
'We believe that with Mr. Sudani's visit, deep-rooted Turkiye-Iraq relations will be strengthened in many areas,' Altun said.
Sudani last met Erdogan in November, during a one-day visit to Istanbul where bilateral relations, regional developments, and ways to activate joint memorandums of understanding were discussed.
In September, the two leaders met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
A high-level Iraqi and Turkish delegation met on April on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, headed by Foreign Ministers Fuad Hussein and Hakan Fidan respectively, to discuss the implementation of Baghdad's decision to designate the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as a banned organization.
In March 2024, Baghdad banned the PKK, a move welcomed by Turkey. However, despite pressure from Ankara, Iraq has not designated the group as a terrorist organization.
In April 2024, Sudani and Erdogan signed a multi-billion-dollar strategic water agreement. The Iraqi premier stated at the time that the pact includes joint projects to improve water management on the Tigris and Euphrates, and it will remain valid for 10 years from implementation.
