Iraqi PM visits Turkey to boost strategic cooperation

On August 19, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi led a high-level delegation of ministers and senior officials to Turkey, his first visit to the neighboring country since taking office in May.

Government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi said the talks would focus on “strategic cooperation” between the two countries, as well as issues related to security, water, and the economy.

Iraq-Turkey relations have fluctuated over the past decade but remain a priority for both sides, particularly for Iraq regarding oil and water resources. The U.S.-Iran conflict that erupted in February and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz elevated Ankara’s importance to Baghdad, prompting Iraq to request Turkey resume and increase oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline after years of disruption.

New oil deal

The two countries seek to sign a pipeline agreement regulating Iraqi crude oil exports after the previous agreement expired on August 18. A source from the Iraqi Oil Ministry said a technical delegation traveled to Ankara late last week to finalize a one-year extension of the old oil export agreement until a new deal is reached.

“Turkey’s new terms are difficult for Iraq to accept. Therefore, only the Iraqi Council of Ministers can decide on this issue,” the unnamed official said, adding that Ankara wants to raise the fee from $1.35 to $7 per barrel, with a minimum export capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day.

Part of Prime Minister al-Zaidi’s plan is to seek new energy deals and secure alternative routes for exporting Iraqi crude through Turkey, Syria, and to the Mediterranean. Previously, Iraq signed $200 billion in energy agreements with U.S. companies during a visit to Washington in early August, aiming to boost oil and gas output and diversify export options.

Iraqi Oil Minister Basim Khudair emphasized: “There is an urgent need to find new export outlets beyond the Strait of Hormuz, which no longer meets Iraq’s requirements. We must accelerate and shorten negotiation and contract timelines to establish new export routes.”

Development corridor

During the visit, Prime Minister al-Zaidi also plans to promote strong trade, development, and economic ties, while learning from Turkey’s experience in various industries. The flagship project is the “Development Corridor” — a vital transport route connecting the port of al-Fao in southern Iraq northward to the Iraq-Turkey-Syria border triangle via a 1,200-kilometer rail and road network crossing 10 Iraqi provinces.

However, political science professor Abd al-Jabar Ahmad said successive attacks by armed groups “have derailed” the project. He also doubts al-Zaidi’s visit will yield major results regarding the project, pointing to Ankara’s involvement in a transport corridor linking Turkey to Jordan via Syria and then to Saudi Arabia. “In my view, the Saudi project has stripped most of the economic and investment appeal of the Iraq Development Road Project,” he added.

Water and security

Water management is also a priority in discussions in Turkey. Iraq blames Turkey for building dams that affect the flow of the two main rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, which originate in Turkish territory. “Iraq considers this an issue impacting the future of millions of Iraqis,” a government source said.

The most complex and sensitive issue concerns security — the presence of Turkish forces on Iraqi soil to fight the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group listed as terrorist by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU. According to military estimates, Turkey maintains about 50 bases of various sizes in the three provinces of Erbil, Duhok, and Nineveh, with around 5,000 soldiers and weapons including artillery, armored vehicles, and heavy weaponry.

In mid-2025, the PKK announced steps toward disarmament as part of a broader peace deal with Ankara aimed at ending 40 years of war that killed more than 40,000 people. Nonetheless, Turkey still views the group’s presence in the mountainous areas of northern Iraq as a national security threat.

Despite challenges, there is broad support in Iraq for strengthening ties with Turkey, based on the belief that relations with the neighbor remain important and serve Iraq’s national interests. Political science professor Issam al-Faily noted: “There is a strong Iraqi desire to deepen relations with Turkey, especially in the oil sector, as Turkey has become one of the most important countries in the region for transit routes exporting oil to Europe and the world.”

“The problem lies in the nature of Iraq’s political environment, shaped by ongoing power struggles. The underlying competition between Turkey and Iran could be one of the factors preventing al-Zaidi from achieving his ambitions in relations with Turkey. He needs to balance these very sensitive issues if he wants the visit to succeed,” al-Faily added.