President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday received Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al Sudani of Iraq in Istanbul, Erdoğan’s office said.
Erdoğan welcomed Al Sudani at the Vahdettin Mansion and gave him a tour of the historical landmark that overlooks the Bosporus from the city’s Anatolian banks.
In a meeting also accompanied by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the pair discussed regional and global issues.
Terrorist groups pose a security threat to both Türkiye and Iraq, Erdoğan told Al Sudani. He welcomed Baghdad's steps against the PKK and assured counterterrorism efforts would serve the peace and stability of both nations.
The leaders last met at the Turkish House (Türkevi) in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in September.
Al Sudani’s visit comes at a time of intensifying Turkish operations against the PKK terrorist group in northern Iraq’s mountainous Qandil region, which is currently under the de-jure control of the regional Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), where the central Iraqi government has little influence.
Türkiye aims to ramp up coordination with Al Sudani’s government in Baghdad on the fight against the PKK to eliminate both the threats on Türkiye from Iraqi soil as well as increase stability and security in Iraq.
The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, Britain and the European Union – is responsible for over 40,000 civilian and security personnel deaths in Türkiye during an almost four-decadelong campaign of terror.
The conflict was initially fought in rural regions of southeastern Türkiye, but the terrorists have moved a large chunk of operations to northern Iraq. Ankara maintains dozens of military bases there and regularly targets the PKK.
Up until recently, Iraq has said the operations violate its sovereignty, but Ankara says it is protecting its borders where the intention is to establish a 30-40 kilometer (18.64-24.86 mile) security corridor.
In August, the neighbors agreed to military cooperation, namely joint training and operation centers, against the terrorists, months after Baghdad declared the PKK a banned organization.
Türkiye, however, wants Iraq to recognize the PKK as a terrorist group fully.
Regional security is also expected to boost the Iraqi Development Road Project, a vast $17 billion (TL 584 billion) infrastructure and transportation project set to link the Persian Gulf to Europe via Iraq and Türkiye with railways, roadways and ports.