Türkiye and Iraq will build a land and railroad transportation corridor stretching from the Iraqi province of Basra to the Turkish border, Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Tuesday.
"We have tasked our minister friends, who will carry out the works for materializing the Development Road Project, extending from Basra to Türkiye," Erdoğan said at a joint press conference with visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani. "I believe that we will transform the Development Road Project into the new Silk Road of our region," the Turkish president said.
Moreover, Türkiye will increase the amount of water released from the Tigris River to help Iraq tackle its water shortage, he said.
In their talks, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to fighting against all forms of terrorism, Erdoğan revealed. "Our expectation from our Iraqi brothers is that they shall designate the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as a terrorist organization and clear their lands of this bloodshedder terrorist organization," Erdoğan said.
Al-Sudani, for his part, underlined that his government will not allow Iraqi lands to become a "point to launch attacks" against its neighbor. "Security of Türkiye and security of Iraq are inseparable," he said.