Regarding the Turkey-Iraq Development Road Project, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said, “We had detailed discussions with my Iraqi counterpart and determined the road map. "We are open to cooperation with countries that want to participate in the Development Path Project," he said.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu met with Iraqi Minister of Transport Rezzak Muheybes es-Sadavi in Iraq, where he went to hold official contacts. During the meeting, Uraloğlu stated that the cooperation of Turkey and Iraq is very important in the implementation of the Development Path Project and said, “The corridor starting from India, which was put forward at the G20 Leaders Summit, will also be an alternative corridor, but for us, the Development Path Project is a gold medal. Therefore, we need to turn the route into a route where trains and vehicles operate, without wasting any time. On the European side, we formed a Council of Ministers with the Ministers of Transport of Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia regarding the continuation of this route. "We can form a similar committee here as well," he said.
THE LINE OF 220 KILOMETERS MUST BE FINISHED FIRST
Reminding that the railway administrations of the two countries came together on August 18, Uraloğlu said that it would be useful to work in sections to complete the 200-kilometer railway to be built within the scope of the Development Road Project as soon as possible. Uraloğlu stated that the Republic of Turkey State Railways (TCDD) has the necessary equipment for railway construction and that Turkey can provide the necessary technical support to Iraq at all stages of the project. Uraloğlu stated that in addition to railway and highway agreements with Iraq, cooperation in maritime matters would be beneficial for both countries.
DETAILS OF THE PROJECT WILL BE COMPLETED WITHIN 2 MONTHS
Iraqi Minister of Transport Rezzak Muheybes es-Sadavi stated that they were very pleased with Minister Uraloğlu's visit to Iraq and said that the Council of Ministers established by Turkey with the Ministers of Transport of Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia regarding the improvement of railway lines and the facilitation of customs procedures will be held in Turkey and Turkey. He said that they would start working as soon as possible to establish it among Iraq. Minister al-Sadawi also stated that the Iraqi Prime Minister instructed him to provide all kinds of cooperation to complete the procedures of the Development Road Project within 2 months.
Uraloğlu said that during the meeting, es-Sadawi asked "Which countries do you want to see in the Council?" "First of all, Iraq and Türkiye." Then the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. We can discuss these issues in four ways. "If anyone from neighboring countries wants to participate, we can evaluate it together," he replied. During the meeting, truck contract and liberalization of transit transportation issues were also discussed.
“WE DETERMINED THE ROAD MAP”
Answering the questions of journalists after the meeting, Uraloğlu answered the question about what issues related to the Development Road Project were discussed during the meeting and said, “We are in Baghdad to express our thoughts these days when this corridor is being talked about very frequently, and being here has clearly revealed our thoughts in this sense. Our friends had spoken at the technical level before. Today, we had very detailed meetings with Mr. Minister and determined the road map. We are open to cooperation, primarily with Iraq, but also with countries in the region in general that want to participate in this project. "I wish you good luck in advance," he replied.