Turkish energy minister arrives in Erbil

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar arrived in Erbil early Thursday. 

Acting Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Natural Resources Kamal Mohammed received the Turkish minister at Erbil International Airport. 

Bayraktar's visit comes as Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan arrived in the Kurdish capital earlier Thursday. 

The Turkish energy minister is expected to take part in the meeting between Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Minister Hakan. 

The Ankara-Erbil bilateral ties as well as the resumption of Kurdistan Region's oil exports are expected to be discussed in the meeting. 

Alparslan on Tuesday met with Iraqi oil minister Hayan Abdul Ghani in Ankara to discuss the resumption of Kurdish oil.

The Iraqi and Turkish ministries agreed to resume the export following the completion of maintenance at the Iraq-Turkey pipeline that is believed to have been damaged by Turkey's February destructive earthquake. 

In March, Baghdad requested Ankara to halt Kurdish oil exports, after the Iraqi government claimed victory against Turkey at an international arbitration court in Paris.

Turkey has been ordered to pay Iraq $1.5bn for the damages while another case against Ankara is pending, per the court's ruling. 

A number of other lingering issues have been the top agenda of Minister Hakan's meeting with Iraqi officials in Baghdad, including the resumption of Kurdistan Region’s halted oil export through the Turkish Ceyhan port; Iraq’s water quota from the major twin rivers of Tigris and Euphrates whose declining levels pose serious challenges to the environment; the ongoing conflict between Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Turkish forces.