Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Thursday during an official visit to Türkiye. (Photo: Kurdistan Region Presidency)
Barzani meets Erdogan, Fidan in Ankara to discuss regional ties and water cooperation
ANKARA — Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani met Thursday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara during an official visit to Turkey, the Kurdistan Region Presidency said.
In a post on X, Barzani wrote, “I was delighted to meet with President Erdogan in Ankara today. It was a timely opportunity to share views on regional issues, and the close and strategic ties between Iraq, the Kurdistan Region and Türkiye. We also discussed ways to further deepen our cooperation and promote regional peace, stability and prosperity.”
According to the presidency, Barzani’s meeting with Foreign Minister Fidan focused on strengthening Turkey’s relations with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region and exploring broader areas of cooperation.
The meetings also addressed the water issue between Turkey and Iraq. Barzani underscored “the importance of coordination between the two countries to ensure that water management fulfills the needs of both nations.”
Earlier in the day, the presidency announced that Barzani had departed Erbil for Ankara for the official visit, during which he would meet Erdogan to discuss bilateral relations, Turkey’s ties with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, and regional developments. The two leaders last met in April during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
The visit follows the recent resumption of oil exports from the Kurdistan Region after the Iraq–Turkey pipeline was halted in March 2023 following an arbitration ruling in Paris.
Exports resumed after what officials described as a “historic agreement” on Sept. 25 between Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani’s government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, which transferred export operations to Iraq’s state oil marketer SOMO.
