The minister was speaking at a Turkey-Iraq business forum in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil on Tuesday. More than 200 businessmen from Turkey were seeking business deals with their Iraqi counterparts at the forum.
Before attending the fair, Çağlayan had a meeting with regional administration leader Massoud Barzani. He said the main topic of discussion had been the steps to be taken to improve mutual relations in the commercial field, such as increasing the number of border gates and starting flights from Turkey to Arbil. In addition, the sides agreed on initiating a study to prepare for opening Arbil’s airspace up to civil aviation. They also shared hopes that starting flights would contribute to the development of tourism between Turkey and northern Iraq. The talks further included discussions on developing relations in the banking sector. Çağlayan said he’d had a meeting with İş Bankası General Manager Ersin Özince to talk about his bank’s plans to open a branch in Arbil. The bank had already applied to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) for permission, the minister said and also recalled that Ziraat was looking at the feasibility of opening a branch in northern Iraq, too.
Barzani: Guns will achieve nothing even in 1,000 years
The minister’s meeting with Barzani in Salahaddin province lasted nearly an hour. He also had a meeting there with the regional administration’s prime minister, Barham Salih. Çağlayan conveyed the government’s messages to Barzani and Salih about the terrorist organization, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has bases in several locations across northern Iraq. Turkey is asking for more active input from the northern Iraqi administration in the fight against the terrorist groups sheltered in the mountainous hideouts in the region.
Barzani told the minister that his administration is in need of Turkey’s support to transform the region into a zone of security and prosperity. He conveyed his condolences to the Turkish government for the casualties sustained in the most recent PKK attacks against Turkish military headquarters and civilians. Barzani condemned the PKK and said there the wars will achieve nothing even if they last 1,000 years. “We are all members of the same family and are in full support of the Turkish government’s democratic initiative and its project of national unity and solidarity,” Çağlayan quoted Barzani as saying, during the business forum on Tuesday.
