Turkish Consulate in Erbil discusses Turkmen affairs with minister Aydın Maruf

Türkiye’s Consulate General in Erbil visited Kurdistan Regional Government Minister Aydın Maruf and Ersan Ağa, adviser for Turkmen affairs at the Kurdistan Region Presidency, to discuss the Turkmen community and developments in the region.

Türkiye’s Consulate General in Erbil paid visits to Aydın Maruf, minister for regional affairs in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq, and Ersan Ağa, adviser responsible for Turkmen affairs at the Kurdistan Region Presidency.

According to the consulate, the visits included consultations on the situation of “our Turkmen kin” and developments in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The historic Erbil Citadel (file photo)

Continued Turkish engagement with the Turkmens

The visit came days after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met a delegation of the Iraqi Turkmen Front at Türkiye’s embassy in Baghdad, where he congratulated Front leader Mohammed Saman Agha on becoming a minister of state after Iraq’s parliament approved his appointment on Oct. 15.

Fidan said at the time that the Turkmens “have always been a very constructive part of Iraq’s overall structure,” calling them “loyal citizens of Iraq” and describing Türkiye and Iraq as “extensions of each other geographically, culturally and historically.”

The Turkmens are one of Iraq’s main communities, living in Kirkuk, Erbil, Mosul, Tal Afar and several other cities in the country’s north. Ankara closely follows their situation and political representation.