Our visit to Türkiye is of special importance, particularly amid recent positive developments in the Middle East regarding steps to enhance cooperation between our neighboring countries, mobilizing efforts to achieve economic integration, and resolving differences based on productive dialogue seeking to serve the best interests of people across our region.
We will focus our talks with the Turkish side on strengthening Iraqi-Turkish relations across all sectors, especially energy and transportation, as we endeavor to implement ambitious economic projects together. We want to transform Iraq into a hub for global trade that connects Asia and Europe through the Al-Faw Grand Port project and the associated commercial zones, residential compounds and tourist attractions.
This ambitious project aims to open the way for increased economic prosperity, strengthening economic and trade relations between Iraq and its neighbors, especially Türkiye. It will also connect Iraq with the countries of Europe and Asia. The Al-Faw Grand Port project will include the dry canal corridor formed by a highway and a railway extending to the Turkish border, allowing access to the port of Mersin and Europe, via Istanbul.
We will discuss the details of these projects with Turkish officials as part of our efforts to strengthen the economic and trade partnership with Türkiye, with whom Iraq's trade volume has reached approximately $20 billion, represented in Turkish imports of chemical products, seeds, grains and legumes, furniture, medicines, medical supplies, and Iraqi exports to Türkiye in the energy sector.
Regarding security, discussions will focus on border controls and cooperation between Iraq and Türkiye, especially in the exchange of intelligence and other information.
We will attach considerable importance to the water problem during our talks in Ankara. We appreciate the Turkish side's efforts to increase the shares of water released from their dams to Iraq. We will discuss with them how to cooperate and coordinate to ensure that Iraq obtains its water needs, which will be crucial for our development and agricultural progress.
Iraq also needs to activate diplomatic cooperation with Türkiye to promote tourism and facilitate the movement of both Iraqi and Turkish citizens across the border, which is supported by the willingness of the Turkish side to open a consulate in Najaf, in addition to its consulates in Basra, Irbil and Mosul.
We will also reaffirm our full solidarity with the Turkish people as they recover from the destruction and human loss caused by the devastating earthquakes last month. We will continue to provide all the assistance they need in this difficult time.
This visit comes at a significant time for the region as we work to improve cooperation and economic integration and development. These efforts are in accord with our domestic priorities in Iraq, in which we consider the fight against corruption paramount, as well as advancing economic growth so that the Iraqi people can see the signs of progress as quickly as possible.
The economic cooperation projects we seek with Ankara will contribute significantly to creating job opportunities across many of Iraq's governorates and will accelerate Iraq's transformation into a commercial center linking the European and Asian continents, and placing Iraq confidently on the map of world trade.
We are determined to diversify energy sources and invest in renewable energy projects to serve our development aspirations, and we are developing plans for cooperation with Türkiye to enhance our joint economic capabilities and according to timetables for priority projects.
The coming future will see greater economic engagement with Türkiye and all neighbors in our region because this engagement and joint cooperation is the only way to overcome the consequences of global crises and the challenges they impose on us all at this critical time. We emphasized this during the Baghdad II Summit held in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and during our recent visits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Iraq's current approach is clear. We are focused on strengthening cooperation with our neighboring countries across the political, commercial and economic sectors in order to advance our country's programs and achieve our stated priorities. We will not deviate from our promise to provide for the needs of our Iraqi citizens and to give priority to the interests of Iraq and Iraqis in an atmosphere of cooperation and constructive dialogue with our friends and partners.
Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani is the current Prime Minister of Iraq
This article has been published by Rudaw through joint cooperation with Sudani's office
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw
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