Iraq: Turkiye FM to visit Baghdad, Erbil this week 

Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is to embark on a diplomatic mission to Iraq this week, with a visit to Baghdad scheduled for Wednesday, followed by a visit to the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), Erbil, the following day.

According to Rudaw, the Turkish diplomat will meet with a number of senior Iraqi officials, both from the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The high profile meeting was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Al-Sahaf, who told the KRI-based media outlet yesterday that Fidan will meet with Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and other senior political figures. During Thursday’s visit to Erbil, the Turkish foreign minister will meet with KRI Prime Minister Masour Barzani and KRG spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani.

While the exact details of the visit are yet to be announced, it is understood that Fidan will be discussing Ankara’s bilateral relations with Baghdad and Erbil. However, Kurdistsan24 quoted the Iraqi foreign ministry spokesperson as saying: “As we have always condemned unilateral actions that cause material and human damage to Iraq, we will discuss this with the Turkish Foreign Minister.”

Another spokesperson also said that the issue of water shortages, partly attributed to Turkish and Iranian dams, would be discussed.

In March, Prime Minister Al-Sudani visited Ankara for the first time and met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan where the issue of Iraq’s water security was brought up.

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