Turkey and Iraq agree to deepen security cooperation and hand over Ba'ashika camp

Istanbul, September 23 (KUNA) -- Turkey and Iraq announced that they have reached an agreement to deepen security cooperation between the two countries and coordinate bilateral efforts, during talks held in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zoubaidi in New York. The Turkish Presidency’s Communications Directorate published the “Joint Press Statement between Turkey and Iraq” today, Wednesday, following the meeting held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings. The statement noted that the talks reviewed various dimensions of the strategic relations between the two countries, alongside reaching consensus on enhancing security cooperation, fully establishing the sovereignty of the Iraqi state in the Sinjar area, and ending the presence of prohibited foreign armed groups. The statement added that, in light of the progress made in security measures taken by Iraq and in accordance with the agreed mechanism and timeline, Turkish forces will begin the gradual handover of the “Bashiqah-Zilkan” camp to the Iraqi federal government. On the economic front, both parties affirmed their agreement to expand the volume of trade and investment, immediately activate agreements signed between the two countries, and accelerate work on joint strategic projects, foremost among them the “Development Road” project. (End) T.A. / T.A.B.