Türkiye, Iraq to hold new round of security meetings

ANKARA

Türkiye and Iraq will hold a new round of high-level security meetings to discuss mutual efforts to eliminate the presence of PKK terrorists from the latter’s territories.

The fourth meeting of the high-level security mechanism will take place in Ankara on Aug. 15 and will be co-chaired by the two countries’ foreign ministers Hakan Fidan and Fuad Hussein.

Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief İbrahim Kalın, other officials and their Iraqi counterparts will attend the meeting, diplomatic sources said.

Türkiye and Iraq have improved their cooperation in the field of security through consecutive meetings since last year. Iraq has listed the PKK as a banned organization and recently shut down three political parties with links to the group.

Türkiye and Iraq are discussing to create a joint military center in northern Iraq for further coordination in their mutual fight against the terrorist threat.

PKK has been enjoying a power vacuum in northern Iraq since the1990s and was launching attacks against Türkiye from there. Its main headquarters and training facilities are located in the Qandil Mountains near the Iranian border.

On the same day, Türkiye and Iraq will also hold the first meeting of their joint planning group, which was founded through a strategic framework agreement between the two countries.

It will be held under the leadership of Fidan and Hussein.

Türkiye and Iraq are also in talks for deepening economic and trade cooperation as the former is endorsing the Development Road Project of Iraq, aimed at linking the Grand Faw Port to Türkiye's southern border.

Türkiye and Iraq had signed an agreement for the realization of the project during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Baghdad earlier this year.

The initiative, spanning approximately 1,200 kilometers, encompasses both railway and highway infrastructure, promising to enhance trade and connectivity between the two countries.