Turkey helps people of Kurdistan get visas

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Turkish General Consul stated that they will help people of the Kurdistan Region to obtain Turkish visas.

Mehmet Akif Inam, the Turkish Consul in Erbil, told Kurdistan24 on Sunday at the opening ceremony of Erbil-Diyarbakir flights, “As the Turkish Consulate here, it is our duty to provide assistance to the people of the Region to get Turkish visas.”

Inam added, “We deal with the Iraqi passport, but as my work is in ‘northern Iraq’ [Kurdistan Region], my duty is to help the process of granting visas to the citizens of the Region, who are willing to visit Turkey for medical, business and tourism purposes.”

Direct flights between Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, and Diyarbakir, the largest Kurdish city in Turkey, began on Sunday. According to Erbil and Diyarbakir airport officials, there will be three flights a week, easing air travel to Kurdish cities in Turkey’s Kurdistan.

According to the Kurdistan Region Presidency statement, the Mayor of Diyarbakir and a number of Kurdish MPs in the Turkish parliament visited Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani in Erbil on Monday. Both sides stressed the importance of starting flights to strengthen the relations and improve the common economic works.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced the news last week while visiting the local branch of his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in the Kurdish-dominated city of Diyarbakir. 

"We are about to launch flights for our Kurdish and Turkish brothers out of Diyarbakir...and this step will make Diyarbakir a key center in [Turkey’s southern] region as well as a symbol of brotherhood," he said.

Davutoglu confirmed that the direct flights between Erbil and Diyarbakir will consolidate the relations between Turkey and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Reporting by Baxtiyar Goran and Hisham Arafat
Editing by Ava Homa and Karzan Sulaivany