MESOP LATEST : Iraqi Kurdish, Turkish Governors Meet to Boost Cross-border Cooperation
2014-03-14 – Cihan News– Governors from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq and Turkey are scheduled to meet to boost cross-border economic ties while talks take place between Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu and KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani in the eastern province of Van on Saturday.
Barzani, who is paying an official visit to Turkey for talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and Davuto?lu, will be accompanied by the governors of Arbil, Sulaimaniya and Duhok provinces during his visit. The Iraqi Kurdish governors will hold a meeting with their Turkish counterparts from Van, ??rnak and Hakkari.
A government official who wished to remain anonymous confirmed the meetings between Iraqi Kurdish and Turkish governors, but did not say if the governors will also meet with Barzani and Davuto?lu on Saturday.
Speaking during a joint press conference with his Azerbaijani and Iranian counterparts in Van on Friday, Davuto?lu said he will meet with Barzani in Van on Saturday for a follow-up to talks that took place during his visit to Sulaimaniya in early March. “We will also hold a working meeting with our governors on Saturday to boost economic relations and facilitate crossings during customs control,” Davuto?lu said. The situation of border crossings had been discussed during Barzani’s visit to Ankara in early November of last year. Davuto?lu and Barzani had stressed the need to develop facilities at the border gate to expand trade and meet the increasing demand for goods.
Davuto?lu paid a visit to the KRG on March 4 to participate in the Sulaimaniya Forum and held meetings afterwards with KRG officials in Arbil. He held a meeting with Barzani and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, who also participated in the forum. Davuto?lu confirmed that Barzani will have talks with Prime Minister Erdo?an in Ankara later on Saturday. According to the Cihan news agency, citing Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the KRG’s prime minister is scheduled to meet with Erdo?an in ?stanbul. A crowded delegation, including businessmen, is expected to accompany Barzani during his visit to Turkey, the news agency reported on Friday.
Turkey’s relations with the KRG have been developing with energy deals and high-level visits. In a show of support for Erdo?an, KRG leader Massoud Barzani paid a visit to Diyarbak?r, a predominantly Kurdish city, during the settlement process. During his meeting with Erdo?an, Barzani renewed his support for the settlement process, which was initiated by Erdo?an’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) last year to resolve the country’s decades-old terrorism problem. Ankara and Arbil also strengthen their ties with energy relations that have recently gained momentum as well as regional mutual interests. Although Ankara’s having independent energy relations with Arbil angers Baghdad, Turkey’s desire for Kurdish energy has resulted in a compromise between Iraq and its autonomous KRG region. On Feb. 19, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs Hussain al-Shahristani announced that the KRG had agreed to export crude via the country’s main oil marketing body, potentially removing a major sticking point in a resource row with the central government. http://en.cihan.com.tr