By John Lee.
The Iraqi Speaker of Parliament Dr Mahmoud al-Mashhadani met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara on Wednesday to discuss strengthening bilateral relations and joint initiatives.
Dr al-Mashhadani called for deeper cooperation between the two nations, proposing the activation of parliamentary friendship committees and requesting Turkey to ease residency procedures for Iraqis, including renewal processes and protection from arbitrary deportation.
The two sides also reviewed progress on the proposed "Development Road" project, which is expected to boost economic ties, trade connectivity, and regional integration by facilitating a low-cost trade corridor from Asia to Europe. Dr al-Mashhadani also thanked Turkey for increasing water releases into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and urged continued cooperation on water issues.
Later the same day, Dr al-Mashhadani received a phone call from Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, who confirmed additional water flows-reaching 420 cubic metres per second-as agreed with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in an earlier meeting.
Dr al-Mashhadani expressed gratitude to both Turkish leaders, describing Turkey as a vital neighbour and affirming Iraq's readiness to deepen cooperation on mutual interests.
(Source: Iraqi Parliament)
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