Middle East
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaking to Rudaw in Doha on December 6, 2025. Photo: screengrab/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday said Ankara places “great importance” on its relationship with Baghdad and there is a lot of potential for developing ties in various sectors as Iraqi political parties negotiate to form a new government after last month’s election.
“We really attach great importance to our neighborhood and relations with Iraq,” Fidan told Rudaw on the sidelines of the Doha Forum when asked about Turkey’s role in the formation of the new Iraqi cabinet.
Iraq held parliamentary elections on November 11. The Reconstruction and Development Coalition (RDC) led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudan,i emerged as the largest bloc with 46 seats in the 329-member parliament, but his electoral win does not guarantee him a second term.
The ruling Shiite Coordination Framework convened on Monday to narrow its list of potential prime ministerial candidates from 30 to 10, Amer al-Fayez, head of the Tasmim Alliance who participated in the meeting, told Rudaw at the time.
Fidan said Ankara worked well with Sudani’s outgoing government.
"We are trying to do everything in our power to help Iraq recover from its past wounds, and to deliver basic services to their people. That is why for the last four years we have been supporting the policies of the Sudani government in delivering basic services to people, in constructing infrastructure, and everything else,” he said.
The foreign minister added that Turkey and Iraq “have a lot of potential” for cooperation across multiple sectors.
Last month, Ankara and Baghdad signed an agreement to cooperate on improving Iraq’s water management and quality.
Turkey remains a key trade partner for the Kurdistan Region, with annual trade volumes exceeding $5 billion. Turkish firms represent more than half of all foreign companies operating in the Region. Iraq’s trade ministry reported in late September that trade with Turkey had grown in the first half of the year, with Turkish exports to Iraq reaching $5.638 billion and Iraqi exports totaling $991.615 million.
Iraq also resumed exporting Kurdistan Region’s oil through Turkey’s Ceyhan port in October, more than two years after it was halted following a court case.
Ali Sarbaz contributed to this report.
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