Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay a visit to Iraq soon to enhance bilateral ties.
During a meeting in his office with heads of Iraqi media organizations on Thursday, Talabani reviewed security, economic and political issues in Iraq in addition to his country's relations with neighboring countries, Talabani's office said in a statement obtained by Xinhua on Friday.
He said that the Turkish premier will make a landmark visit to Iraq soon for talks with Iraqi leaders, without specifying the date of the visit.
"The Prime Ministers of the two countries have been leading joint committees tasked with expanding trade exchange between Iraq and Turkey to five billion U.S. dollars, 20 percent higher than its current level," Talabani said.
Erdogan's expected visit would be the first for a high-level Turkish official since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 that toppled former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Talabani said that Turkey approved financing two pipelines to transport Iraqi oil and gas produced from Iraq's northern oil fields to Turkey's ports.
Early in March, Talabani paid a visit to Turkey and met his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan.
The visit came one week after the Turkish troops launched an offensive against the safe havens of the outlawed Turkish Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the mountainous areas in northern Iraq.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article