Al-Zaidi pushes Iraq-Turkiye partnership ahead of Ankara visit

Shafaq News-Baghdad

Hours beforehis scheduled visit to Ankara, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi said Iraq andTurkiye have a "historic opportunity" to build one of the MiddleEast's most significant economic partnerships.

In anarticle published by Turkiye's Anadolu Agency on Tuesday, Al-Zaidi said the twocountries could transform their shared geography into a strategic economiccorridor linking the Gulf, Asia, and Europe.

He describedthe $17 billion Development Road as a regional project that extendsbeyond Iraq, saying the 1,200-kilometer corridor connecting Grand Al-Faw Portwith Turkiye through railways and highways would accelerate trade, create newcities and industrial zones, attract investment, generate thousands of jobs,and provide the region with “a new economic artery linking ports to globalmarkets.”

Al-Zaidialso stressed the need for closer security cooperation to combat terrorism andorganized crime while respecting each other's sovereignty.

On waterresources, the PM expressed hope for joint management based on mutualinterests, scientific cooperation, and investment in modern technologies tostrengthen water and food security in both countries.

A governmentsource previously told Shafaq News that Al-Zaidi is scheduled to hold talks inAnkara on Tuesday covering security, economic and investment cooperation, oiland energy coordination, efforts to expand bilateral trade, and regional andinternational developments. ...