20 agreements ready to sign during Turkish president's visit to Iraq on Monday

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – Preliminary work has been done on more than 20 agreements Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to sign during his visit to Iraq on Monday, said the Turkish foreign minister.

“We have currently completed pre-agreements for the implementation and signing of more than 20 agreements during our president's visit,” Hakan Fidan told reporters on Sunday. “Tomorrow, hopefully, these agreements will be signed in the presence of political leaders.”

Fidan also pointed to long-standing efforts to reach agreements in fields such as security, energy, agriculture, water, health, and education.

“Our goal is to have a relationship where regional stability, prosperity, and development are possible, to institutionalize our relations in this way, and to do our best for the development and prosperity of the region,” he added.

During Erdogan’s visit to Iraq, he will travel to both Baghdad, the nation’s capital, and Erbil, capital of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq.

Erdogan will hold a working meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al Sudani in Baghdad, followed by the signing of agreements, said Fidan.

The Turkish president will also meet with his Iraqi counterpart Abdul Latif Rashid.

The meeting follows up on visits to Baghdad this March of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Defense Minister Yasar Guler, National Intelligence Organization (MIT) head Ibrahim Kalin, and Deputy Interior Minister Munir Karaloglu.

During that visit, in addition to stronger cooperation to fight terrorism, the sides vowed to boost trade and pursue joint efforts on agriculture, energy, water, health, and transportation.