Transport ministers from Turkey, Iraq, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates convened in Istanbul to discuss the ambitious Development Road Project worth $20 billion. This project aims to streamline the transportation of goods from Asia to Europe by connecting the Gulf to Europe through the Grand Faw Port in Basra, Iraq, with an elaborate network of railways and highways. The plan, introduced last year, seeks to transform Iraq into a vital transportation center, fostering economic growth and fostering collaboration with neighboring countries.

Turkish Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu expressed the need to expedite the project during an interview with HaberTurk television, highlighting various crucial aspects such as financing, construction, and management strategies that will be addressed in the meeting. The gathering comes amidst efforts to strengthen relations between Iraq and Turkey, strained in the past by issues including the presence of Kurdish militants in northern Iraq and Turkish military interventions against them.

In a significant diplomatic move, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Baghdad in April for the first time in over a decade, seeking cooperation from Iraq in combating the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist organization by the US and EU, due to its decades-long insurgency against Turkey. The visit resulted in several agreements being inked in energy, trade, and water sharing domains.

Recently, the Iraqi government imposed a ban on the PKK, whose bases in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region have been a point of contention. Ankara argues that the PKK’s activities in Iraq pose a threat to the planned construction of the Development Road project. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani emphasized that the cornerstone of the initiative will be the enhancement of the Grand Faw Port and the establishment of a “smart industrial city” in close proximity.