Turkish foreign minister to visit Iraq

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan is set to visit Iraq in mid-August and meet with the country’s top leaders, according to the Iraqi foreign ministry.

The upcoming visit, which will take place in the second half of August, was discussed on Thursday in a meeting between Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein and Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Ali Riza Guney in Baghdad, per a statement from the Iraqi ministry.

The press release did not elaborate further details on the visit’s agenda. Fidan is expected to meet with the country’s top leaders.

In a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani in late July, Ambassador Guney also discussed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Iraq.

Baghdad and Ankara share a number of issues, particularly in areas of water quota, border security, and energy.

Iraqi officials have condemned Turkish attacks on the Kurdistan Region’s border areas, where Ankara had launched several ground operations against its arch-foe Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) since the mid-1980s.

Ankara, in response, has demanded Baghdad take action against the presence of Kurdish militants.

The dwindling water levels of Iraq's main river system, the Tigris and Euphrates, which originate in Turkey, have resulted in significant environmental degradation, forcing farmers to abandon their areas, particularly during the scorching summer heat. 

Upstream damming on the rivers in Turkey has been blamed by the Iraqi authorities for the declining water level that had threatened a large rural population in the country.

Iraq in March claimed a legal victory against Turkey in a Paris arbitration court for allowing Kurdistan Region to independently export its oil via Iraq-Turkey Pipeline.

Despite numerous rounds of discussions that have taken place between the two sides to resume the export, the stoppage is still ongoing.