ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia‘ al-Sudani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed over 24 memoranda of understanding (MoUs), including an agreement to launch the Development Road, during their meeting in Baghdad on Monday.
In a joint press conference following their meeting, Sudani said that the MoUs were signed in different sectors, describing them as a “roadmap for sustainable cooperation” on all aspects. The key agreements that emerged from the meeting are those related to the Development Road, security, and water issues.
Sudani and Erdogan hailed their meeting as an important milestone in Iraqi-Turkish relations.
"I believe that my visit and the agreements we signed will be a turning point in the relations between Iraq and Turkey," Erdogan said.
"We signed a framework agreement to cooperate on the issue of water, the cooperation involves common projects that will help in the improvement of water management in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers," the Iraqi prime minister stated, adding that the agreement would be valid for 10 years from implementation.
Water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers have been a major point of contention between Iraq and Turkey, with Baghdad accusing Ankara of restricting its access to its water lifeline through the use of dams.
The Development Road project, stretching from southern Iraq to the border with Turkey, aims to connect the Persian Gulf with Turkey and significantly enhance Iraq’s geopolitical stance and generate economic gains for Baghdad. When completed, the project will also shorten the travel time between Asia and Europe.
Sudani described the project as an “economic river that connects the East and the West.” The agreement to kickstart the Development Road was signed together with the transport ministers of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who are also part of the deal.
“We are in the initial designing stages of the Development Road project and work is ongoing. The railroad aspect is 66 percent completed and the highway is 52 percent complete,” Maytham al-Safi, spokesperson for the transportation ministry told Rudaw earlier on Monday.
Water agreements
"The talks also led to an agreement on water cooperation, developing a joint approach for both sides' interests in irrigation and water management infrastructure projects,” read a statement from Sudani’s office following the meeting with Erdogan.
The two sides have met several times on the matter in the past and failed to reach any final agreement. In March 2023, Sudani traveled to Ankara where he sought an increase in the release of water. Erdogan agreed to double the water released into the Tigris River for one month.
Water levels in the Euphrates and Tigris rivers - shared by Iraq, Syria, and Turkey - have dropped considerably in recent years. A report by the Ministry of Water Resources last year predicted that unless urgent action is taken to combat declining water levels, the two rivers will be dry by 2040.
“In the file of water, an agreement was reached to sign a strategic water agreement between Iraq and Turkey that will surely help completely solve the water crisis in Iraq,” Basem al-Awadi, spokesperson for the Iraqi government, told Rudaw on Monday.
“We are embarking on massive project with the help of Turkish companies, costing several billions of dollars, which will help in solving the water crisis in Iraq in a correct way,” Basem al-Awadi, the spokesperson for the Iraqi government told Rudaw on Monday.
Awadi added that a joint Iraqi-Turkish fund will be created in which Iraq will deposit sold oil money which will be spent on projects such as dams, canalized rivers, power generation, and pumping stations.
Security concerns and the PKK
Erdogan said that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was discussed with both Sudani and separately with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid. The Turkish president said that they talked about steps to be taken against the armed group.
"I want to reiterate my strong belief that by announcing the PKK as a terrorist group, it will help their eradication as soon as possible," Erdogan said adding that Turkey is ready to offer Iraq its support in that regard.
Turkey regularly bombards the mountains of the Kurdistan Region under the pretext of targeting the PKK, an outlawed Kurdish armed group.
A high-level Turkish delegation, which included Ankara’s Foreign minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Ibrahim Kalin, the head of the intelligence agency (MIT), visited Baghdad in March, holding the second round of a top security meeting with their Iraqi counterparts. The first round of the security talks was held in Ankara in December.
Following the meeting, the Iraqi National Security Council announced its ban on the PKK from operating in the country.
"Each member of the PKK in Iraq is considered a political asylum seeker, but they will be banned from partisan and political work as well as bearing arms," Awadi said.
Erdogan arrived in Baghdad on Monday morning and is later set to travel to Erbil to meet Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, and Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani. He is heading a delegation of at least eight ministers.
