Türkiye and Iraq have completed preliminary work to sign more than 20 agreements during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Iraq on Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Sunday.
"Tomorrow, hopefully, these agreements will be signed in the presence of political leaders,” Fidan told reporters in Istanbul as Erdoğan was heading to Baghdad.
The minister 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 Erdoğan's visit to Iraq, he will travel to both Baghdad, the nation's capital, and Irbil, the capital of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq.
Erdoğan will hold a working meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed S. 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 Fidan, National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, National Intelligence Organization (MIT) director Ibrahim Kalın and Deputy Interior Minister Münir Karaloğlu.
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.
