Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan paid a two-day visit to Iraq last week, which Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called “historic.”
The two prime ministers signed a joint political declaration on the establishment of a "high-level strategic cooperation council" between the governments. The two prime ministers said that this effort will help forge a "long-term strategic partnership" between Turkey and Iraq.
Border security, which figures very high on Turkey’s agenda due to PKK terrorist attacks from northern Iraq against Turkey, was also discussed by the prime ministers. Reportedly, the two countries agreed to establish a security zone at their border to eliminate the terrorist threats between the two countries and an economic zone in order to ease cross border trade.
The declaration doesn't mention the PKK, but it calls for respecting each other's territories and "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."
The declaration also calls for completing a military framework agreement, concluding a pact on combating terrorism and fostering trade relations in both countries' defense-related industries. Along with military and border security issues, the relationship also focuses on economics and energy.
For energy, the plan calls for establishing partnerships between the countries "as well as transporting Iraqi natural resources to the world markets through most viable export routes." This includes "upgrading and expanding" the existing capacity of Kirkuk-Yumurtalik oil pipeline and building "a pipeline network to transport natural gas from Iraq to international markets via Turkey."
Experts see the visit as the beginning of a new era between the two countries. According to Ambassador Ahmet Davutoglu, chief adviser to the Turkish prime minister on foreign policy, this important bilateral initiative is also a reflection of Turkey’s strategic vision for the region which includes a “common security framework, political dialogue, economic interdependency, and cultural and sectarian harmony.”
