Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu already announced on Monday that the Turkish and Iraqi cabinets will convene together soon under the leadership of both prime ministers, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Nouri al-Maliki, as a sign of an increased engagement between the two neighboring countries.
In addition to Davutoğlu, State Minister Zafer Çağlayan, Interior Minister Beşir Atalay, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız, Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım, Public Works and Housing Minister Mustafa Demir, Health Minister Recep Akdağ and Environment and Forestry Minister Veysel Eroğlu participated in the meeting which was held as “a preparatory meeting” for the upcoming joint meeting of the cabinets, called the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.
In brief remarks following the meeting, Davutoğlu told reporters that his expected visit to Baghdad will take place in August. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will also visit Baghdad in the upcoming months, probably in October, and the meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council will take place in Baghdad during Erdoğan's visit, he added.
The foreign minister stated that Turkey wishes to improve the cooperation between Turkey and Iraq which is supported by various mechanisms to offer a model for regional countries as well. A shadow cast over bilateral relations between Iraq and Turkey due to the presence of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq gradually dispersed in 2008, while Turkey also improved its relations with the regional Kurdish administration in northern Iraq following a long hiatus after the US invasion of Iraq.
Apparently having overcome the extremely negative effect of the PKK in their bilateral relationship, the two neighboring countries are now getting ready to engage in a full-fledged cooperation which will enable bureaucrats from different ministries in both countries to keep in constant contact in order to focus on issues at a bilateral level and furthering relations in many fields. If it takes place, Erdoğan's future visit to Baghdad will be his second official visit to the city in almost a year.
Seeds of multidimensional bilateral cooperation between Ankara and Baghdad were actually sown during Erdoğan's July 2008 visit. Then, Erdoğan and his counterpart, Maliki, signed a strategic partnership agreement committing Turkey and Iraq to cooperation in the fields of politics, economy, energy, water, culture and security. While outlining the formation of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, the agreement also called for respect for each other's territories. It signaled the two countries' commitment to “supporting the joint efforts of Iraq and Turkey to prevent the transit of terrorists and illegal arms to and from Iraq and emphasizing the importance of strengthening cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to control their common borders and prevent all kinds of illicit trafficking.”
