Former Minister Veysel Eroğlu has been named Türkiye’s special representative to Iraq, a decision published in the Official Gazette on Thursday said, which marks a strategic step to strengthen the management of water sources and infrastructure cooperation between the neighbors.
Eroğlu, appointed by a decree from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, served as minister of environment and forestry between 2007-2011 and forestry and water affairs between 2011-2018.
His appointment came at a time of intensifying diplomacy between Ankara and Baghdad over the construction of the Ovaköy Border Gate and the Development Road project, a $17 billion plan designed to facilitate the transport of goods from the Gulf to Europe via the Grand Faw Port in Basra in southern Iraq.
The port would be linked to Türkiye and subsequently to Europe through an extensive network of railways and highways.
Erdoğan is hosting Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al Sudani in Ankara on Thursday to discuss bilateral ties, the state of the project, as well as the presence of the PKK in Iraq. The PKK is a terrorist group responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people in Türkiye in a four-decade terror campaign. The group operates a stronghold in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye.
According to Turkish media reports, a high-level Turkish delegation will reciprocate the Iraqi visit soon with a trip to Baghdad.
“Concrete steps are expected on the Development Road and Ovaköy Border Gate construction following these meetings,” media reports said.
Türkiye, Iraq, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are sides in the Development Road. The initiative, which was unveiled in 2023, would turn Iraq into a transit hub by shortening travel time between Asia and Europe to rival the Suez Canal.
The road passes through the entire Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq before reaching the Turkish border. The project’s feasibility, however, is contingent on the elimination of the PKK’s presence in the region.
KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek discussed the project at the World Government Summit in Dubai in February.
