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Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will be in Baghdad soon. It is expected that Davutoğlu will meet and have bilateral talks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Foreign Affairs Minister Hoshyar Zebari during his short working visit.
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For Turkey, Iraq's unity, distancing from terror and inconsistency, the increase in the wellbeing of Iraqi people and non-bias against all political groups, ethnicities, religions and factions are very important. Turkey, which has become a regional power with regional expert Davutoğlu at the helm, is increasing its pull in Iraq in 2009. Iraq has always been a border region between eastern Mediterranean countries and Iran as well as serving as a battleground for power between Iran and Anatolia (the Seljuk and Ottoman empires). This historic balance, which has diminished with the US intervention, may be recovered now that Turkey is increasing its pull in Iraq. In Baghdad, Davutoğlu is planning to discuss the details and plans of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, which came into existence following Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Baghdad visit on July 10, 2008 and whose next meeting is set to take place in September. The council, an exemplary effort for the Middle East, is seen as a contemporary cooperation method. The council will be headed by the two prime ministers and will meet at least once a year. There will be a deputy-level mechanism at work under the auspices of the two prime ministers. This group of deputies will meet at least three times a year in order to discuss matters of diplomacy, security and finance in order to bring about cooperation and unity between the two countries. The technical sub-groups formed within the council will meet at least four times a year. The decisions made during the council will be brought to life through action plans. This high-level council will feature four important elements. These are a common security ground, political dialogue, financial cooperation and cultural harmony. Davutoğlu notes that this council in no way forms a front against other countries in the area and he has hopes that this initiative will set an example for other countries to maintain good ties with Iraq. Furthermore, it is noted that Davutoğlu will once again ask for the central Iraqi government to follow a more active policy in combating the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The multi-dimensional communication traffic between the two countries is increasing. Iraqi President Talabani had visited Ankara on Mar. 7, 2008. Prime Minister al-Maliki visited Ankara in July in order to attend the Nabucco signature ceremony. This month, Ankara hosted dozens of Iraqi politicians including former Iraqi Prime Minister and National Reform Party head Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Iraqi government spokesperson Dr. Ali al-Dabbagh, Youth and Sports Minister Jasim Mohammed Jaafar and the general secretary of the Hizb al-Islami Party, Osama al-Tikriti. It is expected that Prime Minister Erdoğan, Interior Minister Beşir Atalay and opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal will visit Baghdad following Şeker Bayrami. Erdoğan's July 2008 Baghdad visit was well received by Iraq as it was the second prime-ministerial level visit to Iraq in 18 years, following the visit of then-Prime Minister Yıldırım Akbulut in 1990. The relations between Turkey and Iraq, whom Turkey lived with under “one roof” for approximately 500 years (1534-1917) during the Ottoman era, are moving in a fast and positive direction. The relationship between the two countries has changed from that of friendship into one of familial ties. The existent religious, linguistic, cultural, ethnic and historic ties between the two countries are reviving. A period of multifaceted and multidimensional mutual relations has begun.
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| 11 August 2009, Tuesday |
| HASAN KANBOLAT |
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