31 May، 2021
The Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Fatih Yildiz delivered a lecture during the symposium organized by RCD, moderated by Dr. Farhad Alaaldin, Member of Board of Directors of RCD, entitled “Iraq-Turkey Strategic Relations: Turkish Perspective” at RCD’s headquarter in the holy city of Najaf. He said that the geographic proximity was fundamental for growth and development in European states, while some consider it as a negative component in the Middle East region at present. He elaborated that “we believe that our proximity with Iraq is the most important geographic proximity for Turkey, and we believe that investment in Turkey is very fruitful and we are working to encourage investment there from Iraq and North America with guarantees and support by the state in all the stages of the work.”

His Excellency Ambassador Yildiz added that Turkey has made a progress during the last twenty years in field of water management and wants to transfer this progress to Iraq, “as we believe that this good earth must invest in agriculture in the correct way.” He also pointed out to the volume of trade exchange between Iraq and Turkey that started to increase again, but have not yet reached the $13 billion achieved in 2014, and that “we aspire to reach up to $20 billion, especially after solving the custom’s problem.”

H.E. Ambassador Yildiz valued the efforts of RCD for its contribution in bringing views and positions closer among the Iraqi political blocs and strengthening the bonds between all parties, expressing his gratitude for this important host in the holy city of Najaf.