Hydropolitics Association

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Water ,Oil and Security Based Relations Between Turkey and Iraq

29.04.2019
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29 April 2019

HPA-"President Erdogan will visit Iraq to hold the 4th High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting toward the end of this year," Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Mohamed Ali al-Hakim in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. Cavusoglu said the two top diplomats discussed bilateral relations in all its dimensions and exchanged views on regional issues.He underlined that the two countries should work together on water management to prevent water crisis in the region. Turkey will send a special representative to Iraq to share Turkey's experiences on water management.

Turkey foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu was in Iraq to discuss trade, border security and water resources. The two-day visit beginning Sunday will include stops in the autonomous Kurdish region and Basra, Iraq main oil hub.

Turkey is expected to rebalance its oil supplies after the U.S. announced it would end the waivers that have allowed Turkey to import from Iran despite sanctions. Iraq is one of Turkey leading suppliers of crude oil.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with his Iraqi counterpart, Mohamed Alhakim, in Baghdad on Sunday. He said Turkey would send a special representative to Iraq to discuss water resources after an exceptionally wet winter filled reservoirs and caused flooding in both countries. Alhakim said Iraq would facilitate trade with Turkey and called on Turkish firms to invest in Iraq.

20 days ago,Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed a new special envoy to Iraq to resolve the water sharing issues between the two countries. Deputy Foreign Minister Nizar al-Khairallah had said the Iraqi government is looking forward for the Turkish envoy’s visit to Baghdad to negotiate the water issue. Khairallah also had pointed out that the water issue is part of Iraq’s national security and a strategic subject that serves the interests of the country.

Kaynak: AA