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Turkish, Iraqi FMs pledge to boost ties

25 October 2013 18:25 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari on Friday pledged here to boost the relations between the two neighbors, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Zebari, Davutoglu said that Turkey always considered Iraqi-Turkish relations as a fundamental part of the stability in the Middle East.

Davutoglu said high-ranking officials from the two countries had agreed to step up cooperation, especially in transportation, energy, economy, trade, agriculture and health sectors.

Davutoglu said that he was planning to visit the Iraqi capital of Baghdad in the first half of November, adding that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki may also pay a visit to Turkey.

For his part, Zebari, who arrived in Turkey Thursday, said it was time to open a new chapter in Turkish-Iraqi relations, adding that there were no problems that could not be solved between Baghdad and Ankara through dialogue.

"We can solve the problems by building communication with ministers and leaders through diplomatic and official channels," Zebari said.

He pointed out that the Iraqi government will protect Syrian Kurds if needed as the crisis in Syria affects all neighboring countries.

On Thursday evening, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said in his meeting with Zebari "strong collaboration with Iraq would benefit not only the two countries but the whole region. Without any sort of discrimination, Turkey embraces all segments of Iraq. Turkey will continue supporting Iraq in its bid to reach stabilization."

Zebari said that Iraq attaches great importance to its relations with Turkey, adding "the latest top-level visits between the two countries will help the relations to get to the targeted point. My trip to Turkey is a sign of the strong political will of Iraq for this target."

The Iraqi foreign minister also met with Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil CiCek and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday.