August 25, 2023
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Turkish FM Tackles Security, Water and Oil Concerns With Iraq in First Official Visit
In his first official visit to Iraq since taking office, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has called on Baghdad to move the needle on a number of long-standing issues. Most notably, Fidan stressed the urgency for Baghdad to recognise the PKK as a terrorist organisation, describing it as a common enemy. Fidan also visited Erbil and held discussions with officials from the Kurdish regional government on bilateral relations, energy and water.
During the meetings, Ankara and Baghdad managed to agree on establishing a permanent joint committee to resolve their water dispute. This has been a major source of tension, as Iraq has blamed Turkiye for restricting its water flow from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers by building mega dams, while Ankara has accused Baghdad of failing to manage its own water share. Resuming oil exports through the Iraq-Türkiye crude oil pipeline was also discussed. Officials from Baghdad and Erbil have long clashed over sharing oil revenues, especially after the ICC shut down the pipeline in March after unauthorised exports by the KRG. The energy issue was also the main topic during Iraqi oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani's recent visit to Ankara.
Guests:
Ahmed Rushdi
President of House of Iraqi Expertise Foundation
Helin Sari Ertem
Associate Professor at Medeniyet University
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