FM Fidan to visit Iraq for security meeting in Baghdad

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will head to Iraq on Thursday to attend a critical security meeting with other Turkish officials in Baghdad, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

Fidan will visit Baghdad to attend the next round of security-oriented consultations to be hosted by Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.

He will be accompanied by Türkiye’s National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, the head of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Ibrahim Kalın, and Deputy Minister of Interior Münir Karaloğlu.

“During the meeting, various topics on our bilateral agenda, particularly cooperation in the fields of combatting terrorism, security as well as military cooperation will be discussed thoroughly,” the ministry said.

Counterterrorism will be the main agenda of their meetings with Iraqi officials, according to sources. They would also discuss establishing a “joint operations center” with Iraq for a more effective fight against terrorism. Sources said Iraq was more responsive to the idea, which was also voiced by the Turkish side in the past. Sabah newspaper reported that Turkish and Iraqi officials would discuss the work to secure the Turkish-Iraqi border and the ambitious Development Road Project.

PKK terrorists often hide in northern Iraq, where it has a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains, to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

Since January 2023, Turkish security forces and intelligence agency eliminated a total of 2,585 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq and Syria, according to figures from the ministry.