Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan to visit Iraq for talks on stability, cooperation

ISTANBUL

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday will pay a visit to Iraq.

The visit comes just three weeks after Fidan hosted Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Water Resources Minister Aoun Diab Abdullah in the Turkish capital Ankara, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

During Fidan’s visit, bilateral relations and current regional developments will be discussed. Fidan is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with senior Iraqi officials.

In his talks, Fidan is expected to express satisfaction with the rapid progress in bilateral relations across almost all fields and the intensification of high-level contacts, underline Türkiye’s support for efforts to strengthen stability, security, and prosperity in Iraq, and convey Türkiye’s hope that Iraq’s Nov. 11 parliamentary elections will be held peacefully and smoothly, producing the best outcome for the Iraqi people.

Fidan is also expected to highlight the Development Road Project, in which Türkiye is a natural stakeholder, praise Iraq’s support for the “terror-free Türkiye” initiative, and reiterate that Türkiye approaches water issues from a humanitarian perspective, viewing transboundary waters as an area of cooperation with neighboring countries as both an upstream and downstream riparian state. He will stress Türkiye’s readiness for technical and scientific cooperation as well as contributions to infrastructure projects to ensure the sustainable use of water in Iraq.

During his meetings, Fidan is expected to stress that the efficient use of water resources is a shared responsibility for all basin countries, and transboundary waters must be used effectively and rationally among riparian states. He is also set to highlight that September’s resumption of operations on the Iraq-Türkiye Oil Pipeline constitutes a positive development for energy supply security and bilateral trade, while reiterating that Türkiye stands ready to sign a comprehensive new agreement with Iraq to realize the full potential of cooperation in the energy field.

Regional issues, trade

On regional issues, Fidan is expected to underscore that full adherence to the Gaza ceasefire is essential for stabilizing the fragile regional security environment, and stress the importance of joint efforts to strengthen Syria’s unity and territorial integrity. He is also expected to welcome Baghdad’s security steps, saying that Iraq’s efforts to repatriate its citizens from camps and detention facilities in northeastern Syria contribute significantly to Syria’s security.

Iraq this year has continued to be one of Türkiye’s key trade partners in 2025. As of September, the bilateral trade volume reached approximately $12 billion, with Turkish exports to Iraq totaling nearly $8.68 billion and imports from Iraq amounting to $3.23 billion.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s April 2024 visit to Iraq marked a turning point in bilateral ties. During the visit, 27 agreements and memoranda were signed in areas including security, trade, transboundary waters, agriculture, culture, and transport, strengthening the legal foundations of the bilateral partnership.

Significant progress has been achieved in institutionalizing cooperation through the joint permanent committees established under the Strategic Framework Agreement for Joint Cooperation, one of the key documents signed during Erdogan’s visit.

In the period that followed, high-level political and technical contacts intensified further. With Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s official visit to Türkiye this May, the sixth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council was held and 11 documents were signed.

Fidan most recently visited Baghdad in January this year.