Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the energy cooperation between Turkiye and Iraq is of strategic importance for regional energy security.
Bayraktar made a statement on platform X following his meeting in Ankara with Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Muhammad Hussein Bahr al-Ulum, Iraqi Deputy Oil Minister Nasir Aziz Jabbar and Iraq's Ambassador to Ankara Majid al-Lajmawi.
Stating that the meeting discussed new opportunities to develop cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy, Minister Bayraktar said the negotiations covered the oil, natural gas and electricity sectors.
Bayraktar stated that the parties particularly focused on the possibilities of developing a new and comprehensive cooperation on the Iraq-Turkiye crude oil pipeline, and emphasized that the partnership in the energy field contributes to regional energy security.
Minister Bayraktar noted that Turkiye sees the Development Road Project not only as a transportation corridor but also as a strategic energy corridor that strengthens energy supply security and contributes to energy trade in the region.
He stated that Ankara aims to work closely with the new Iraqi government in this framework and to strengthen the more efficient use of the existing infrastructure as well as through new connections.
The Development Road Project, which includes a highway and a railway extending from Iraq to Turkiye and its ports, is approximately 1,200 kilometers long inside Iraq. The project aims to transport goods between Europe and the Gulf countries.