Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Numan Kurtulmuş, met with the Speaker of the Iraqi House of Representatives, Heybet Halbusi, in the Parliament. After the closed-door meeting, Kurtulmuş and Halbusi held a joint press conference.
According to DHA news, Kurtulmuş stated that he was pleased to host Halbusi and his delegation and that they discussed the issues between the two countries in detail during the meeting.
Kurtulmuş said, "There has been an extraordinary positive momentum between Turkey and Iraq lately. Frankly, we attach great importance to today's visit in terms of the successful continuation of this positive process. First of all, the signing of 27 agreements during the visit of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Iraq with a large delegation in 2024 constituted a historical step. After the subsequent mutual visits, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Zeydi visited our country in July with a large delegation. This "Many strategic decisions were taken and many documents were signed during the visit. The visit of Mr. Halbusi and his friends to our country will constitute an extraordinary step forward in moving the positive agenda between our countries forward. I hope that from now on, this positive agenda that exists between our governments will be positively advanced in the parliaments of both countries and we will continue our work in close cooperation as parliaments."
"WE ARE CLOSELY FOLLOWING THE EVENTS IN IRAQ"
Noting that coordination is necessary to follow up the issues discussed in the meeting, Kurtulmuş said that inter-country committees will be formed. Kurtulmuş said, "The world is going through an extremely important process. The current system has collapsed with all its institutions, organizations and rules. However, although the old order has collapsed, a new order has not been established. The conflicts, tensions and instability experienced in the world, especially in our region, are actually a reflection of the problem in the world system. Undoubtedly, the Middle East geography, where our countries are located, is one of the regions most affected by tension, conflict and instability in the world. Therefore, we must closely follow the developments in this region and take precautions." We have to. Considering the current instabilities and Israel's expansionist policies and its hostile attitude towards almost all the countries in the region and its destabilizing policies in the region, it is obvious that we are much more alert, strong and cooperative. In this context, we, as Turkey, approach the problems in the region within the framework of the principle of 'regional ownership'. No problem in this region is a problem that Türkiye can ignore. Therefore, in this context, Turkey cannot remain indifferent to the turmoil, tension or conflict in any friendly country. "We are following it closely. We attach great importance to the future and stability of Iraq, not only as a neighbour, but also as a brother, friend and even intertwined relative country with which we have had very close relations throughout history. We appreciate the Iraqi government's efforts to stay out of regional conflicts, especially the tensions and conflicts that emerged after the war launched by Israel and America against Iran," he said.
DEVELOPMENT ROAD PROJECT
Emphasizing that they attach importance to the goal of increasing the trade volume between the two countries from 17 billion dollars to 30 billion dollars, Kurtulmuş said, "I would like to underline two important projects regarding the region where Turkey and Iraq are located. One of them is the Development Road Project. This project is a very important project that will ensure connectivity in the most perfect sense and will contribute to the development and development of both Iraq and the region in the coming period. Through this project, Asia will be connected to Europe through Türkiye and Iraq, and the economies of Asia and Europe will be "For this reason, we have mutually confirmed that we will support every step to be taken within the scope of the project. We also shared our ideas for the acceleration of the project. We believe that the Development Road Project will be an active, visible and implemented application with all its components as soon as possible. In this way, we think that both countries will gain a great benefit within the win-win principle. This will not only mean a financial gain, but also the connection of peoples, cultures and cities in the region."
"A TERRORISM-FREE IRAQ WILL BE BUILT"
Reminding that the 'Proposal on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration' prepared within the scope of the 'Terror-Free Turkey' process was accepted in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Kurtulmuş said, "Thus, we are completely leaving behind the issue of terrorism, for which we wasted half of the first century of the Republic. PKK is dissolving itself with all its elements and starting the process of surrendering its weapons. As a reflection of this process, PYD/YPG and KCK within the borders of Syria are rapidly integrated into the new Syrian administration." We appreciate it. Likewise, we hope that the 'Terror-free Turkey' approach will affect the entire region and that our Iraqi brothers, who suffer greatly from terrorism, will be freed from terrorism and armed groups as soon as possible. I do not want to list their names one by one, but we know that many organizations are a scourge to Iraq and how much oppression they inflict on the people. Every part of Iraq will be cleared of terrorist organizations and militia groups, and a terrorist-free Iraq will be built. "We will witness the practical impact of Turkey's process on the region as soon as possible. In this context, it is very important that there are preparations for the armed militia groups in Iraq to surrender their weapons to the central government as of next month," he said.
"LET THE WHOLE REGION BE A TERRORISM-FREE ZONE"
Heybet Halbusi, Speaker of the Iraqi House of Representatives, stated that many strategic issues were discussed during the bilateral meeting. Halbusi continued as follows:
"I congratulate you, Mr. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Turkish Grand National Assembly, for approving the 'Terror-free Turkey' law. This issue is very important for both Turkey and the region. Practical work is being carried out in Iraq. Especially on the 30th of this month or in October, work will be carried out on all weapons under state authority. All party leaders with political groups and all segments of the public agree on this issue because this is a national issue. We want the entire region to be a terror-free region, without armed groups. This issue is for all "It is closely related to the stability of the countries. We touched upon many issues in our meetings. As you know, a framework agreement was signed between the two countries in 2025. Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials came to the parliament and provided information about the agreement. We are working on all these details in coordination."
Halbusi also added that Türkiye will play an important role in the transfer of Iraqi oil due to the recent developments in the Strait of Hormuz.
