Turkish delegation to visit Iraq soon with key issues on agenda

Shafaq News/ A high-level Turkish delegation is expected to visit Baghdad in the coming days, a source familiar with the matter told Shafaq News on Thursday.

The delegation, headed by the President of the Turkish Council of Higher Education and including several ministers, will hold discussions on key issues, including the security situation in Syria and the presence of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) elements.

The talks will also address economic matters, particularly mechanisms for resuming oil exports through the Ceyhan port, as well as the issue of financial penalties imposed on Turkiye. Additional commercial agreements and other files will also be on the agenda during meetings with the Iraqi government.

Turkiye halted oil flows through the pipeline linking the Kurdistan Region to the Ceyhan port in March 2023 after a tribunal ordered Ankara to pay Iraq approximately $1.5 billion in compensation for unauthorized oil exports, refusing to pay the fine and asking Erbil to assume the liability.

The shutdown halted around 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iraqi oil exports. A restart could partially ease the impact on oil markets, which have faced reduced shipments from Iraq, a key crude supplier.

Iraq previously exported between 400,000 and 500,000 bpd from northern fields, including those in the Kurdistan Region, through the now-idle pipeline.

Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani visited Turkiye on May 8, 2025, where he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The visit focused on strengthening bilateral relations and concluded with the signing of 10 memorandums of understanding in areas including energy, trade, investment, and security.

Meanwhile, trade between Iraq and Turkiye reached approximately $13 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow further in 2025.