President Nechirvan Barzani arrived in Ankara on Thursday to meet with Turkey’s President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

During their meeting, bilateral relations of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region with Turkey, the political developments in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region following the inauguration of the new cabinet of the Iraqi Federal Government were discussed. The meeting also highlighted the Erbil-Baghdad relations and the ongoing negotiations to resolve the pending issues between the two sides.

Both sides stressed their mutual readiness to promote relations between the Kurdistan Region and Turkey in all areas, especially in trade and economic cooperation, and to utilize the existing opportunities to expand the joint partnership of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region with Turkey in the field of energy, which can actively contribute to filling the void and addressing the needs in the world today, especially in Europe in the field of natural gas and energy.

Discussions also focused on the importance of strengthening cooperation of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region with Turkey to protect border security, the latest developments in the fight against terrorism and the threat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the situation in the wider region and other issues of mutual interest.