Turkish president receives Iraqi delegation in Ankara

BAGHDAD, October 7 — On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received an official delegation from the Iraqi federal government and politicians from the Kurdistan Region during the fourth extraordinary congress of the Justice and Development Party in Ankara. Erdoğan promised to visit both Baghdad and Erbil in response to an invitation from the delegation.

According to the Turkish Anadolu Agency, the Iraqi delegation was led by the Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammed al-Halbousi, Defense Minister Thabet al-Abbasi, and the head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Faleh al-Fayyad. Khamis Khanjar, leader of the Sovereignty Coalition, and Hasan Turan, leader of the Turkmen Front, were also part of the delegation. The Kurdish delegation included Siyad Barzani, a representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani, and Jaafar Aminiki, head of the Public Relations Department of the Democratic Party.

The meeting discussed the latest developments in Turkey’s relations with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. The delegation congratulated Erdoğan on his re-election as the leader of the Justice and Development Party.

This meeting followed discussions between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Falih Alfayyadh, the head of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, as well as Khamis Khanjar, the leader of the Iraqi Sovereignty Coalition, in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a tweet on its “X” platform on Friday that Foreign Minister Fidan met with Falih Alfayyadh, the head of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces. In another post, it was mentioned that Minister Fidan met with Khamis Khanjar, the leader of the Iraqi Sovereignty Coalition.