By Turan Kışlakçı
History is sometimes written with wars, and sometimes with signatures… The paths that armies cannot open are sometimes opened by signatures made at tables. The agreements signed in Ankara between Turkey and Iraq represent exactly such a turning point. This visit is not just an ordinary diplomatic contact that strengthens the relations between two neighboring countries; it is a historic step that will change the economic map of the Middle East and reshape the destiny of the region.
Following the new normalization process that began with Syria, this new strategic partnership established with Iraq is one of the most important pillars of Turkey’s new vision, which prioritizes stability, prosperity, and economic integration not only within its own borders but across the entire region. Turkey, which strengthened its economic stability with the AK Party’s rise to power in 2002, is now transforming this accumulated wealth into a new development move on a regional scale. Starting from next autumn, we will begin to see the economic results of this much more clearly.
The issue discussed today is not just about oil. It is not just about a railway or a highway. The issue is creating a new economic artery extending from the Persian Gulf to the heart of Europe.
Turkey’s supply of approximately 1 million barrels of oil per day from Iraq through a long-term agreement; the delivery of energy lines via Iraq and Syria to Turkey, and from there to Europe; in addition, the connection of railways and highways from the Gulf to Europe via Anatolia through the Development Road Project—all of this will create a new trade ecosystem that will transform not only the Turkish economy but the entire region.
What this means is this: A cargo leaving the Port of Basra will reach Europe via Anatolia in the shortest time. Similarly, industrial products coming from Europe will reach the Gulf market via Turkey. Hundreds of trucks—and in the coming years, thousands—will move along this route daily; railways will become the backbone of a new Silk Road. For this reason, the Development Road Project is not just Turkey’s project, but also the project of Iraq, the Gulf countries, and future generations.
Of course, such large projects will have their opponents. Those who do not want the region to achieve stability, those disturbed by economic integration, and circles that see Turkey’s strengthening as a threat to their own calculations will oppose this project. To achieve this, various lobbies will be activated not only abroad but also domestically. It is of vital importance for Turkey to maintain its economic stability, political determination, and social unity during this process.
The Development Road is the shortest and safest route between the Gulf and Europe. It will connect people, goods, capital, and energy. This project will not only provide great economic contributions to Turkey but will also make Iraq an indispensable actor in the world economy. Iraq will have a share behind every light bulb lit, every factory operating, and every production line running in Europe. This will open the door to the sustainable development that Iraq has yearned for decades.
For this very reason, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi’s visit to Ankara is extremely important. Ali al-Zaidi, who has been serving as the Prime Minister of Iraq since May 14, 2026, and is only 40 years old, is the youngest prime minister in Iraqi history. It is no coincidence that he chose Turkey for his third foreign trip after becoming Prime Minister. The fact that he was welcomed with a state ceremony at the Presidential Complex is a clear indication of the importance both countries place on this visit.
As part of the visit, one-on-one meetings were held with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This was followed by inter-delegation meetings. The Iraq-Turkey Roundtable Meeting was organized, and five important memoranda of understanding were signed in the presence of the two leaders.
The agreements signed cover education, cooperation between police academies, youth and sports, industrial property, railway and road transportation via the Fishkhabur-Ovaköy route, and the development of transportation infrastructure in exchange for natural resources.
However, among these, two headings stand out in particular. The first is energy… The purchase by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) of a 15% stake in BP’s Kirkuk-based company marks the beginning of a new era in the energy sector.
One of the most strategic dimensions of the agreements signed with Iraq is the transfer of BP’s 15% stake in the Kirkuk oil fields to Turkey. This development cannot be read merely as a commercial partnership or an energy investment; it should also be evaluated as one of the most important geostrategic gains in the history of the Republic. It signifies that the influence lost at international negotiation tables a century ago is now being reinforced once again at the diplomatic table, with a strong state capacity. The emergence of such a result is no coincidence. The industrial infrastructure built over the last quarter-century, the breakthroughs in the defense industry, economic resilience, diplomatic effectiveness, and military deterrence have made Turkey not just an observer of developments, but an actor that shapes regional balances.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used the following statements on this matter at the joint press conference: “Mr. Prime Minister says, ‘We can give Turkey 1 million barrels of oil per day. Do not need anywhere else.’ If we transfer 1 million barrels of oil from our neighbor Iraq to here, it will meet our needs. Our target is a comprehensive energy cooperation agreement.”
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar also announced that there is an initial oil reserve of 3 billion barrels in these fields. However, it is also clear that this relationship is not one-sided. While Turkey needs energy, Iraq needs Turkey for water management, security cooperation, counter-terrorism, transportation infrastructure, and especially for the success of the Development Road Project.
Therefore, the relationship established between Ankara and Baghdad is not based on temporary political calculations, but on mutual strategic complementarity.
Today, some circles are trying to weaken Iraq’s sovereignty, prevent it from utilizing its oil, and neutralize its geostrategic position opening to the Persian Gulf. In such a period, Iraq needs reliable partners.
That is why Ali al-Zaidi’s following sentence is not an ordinary political statement; it is practically the manifesto of the new era: “Actually, geography naturally gave us two rivers. We want a third river too. Let this third river be a river of economy. This is the Development Road.”
These words are perhaps one of the most powerful metaphors coined for the Middle East in recent years. The Tigris and Euphrates have nourished Mesopotamia for thousands of years… Now, the third river will not be water, but trade… It will be oil… It will be railways… It will be ports… It will be industry… It will be prosperity…
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s following words also complete this vision: “Our neighbor Iraq is one of the countries most affected by the environment of war and instability. From the past to the present, we have not—and will not—separate Iraq’s peace and stability from our own country’s situation. We are in close dialogue with our Iraqi brothers to turn our vision of a terror-free region into reality.”
Despite this, the crisis experienced during the signing ceremony in Ankara was striking. Iraqi Minister of Transport Vehb Selman Haseni, known for his closeness to Iran, refusing to sign the Development Road agreement during the live broadcast was not just a diplomatic discourtesy; it also revealed how fiercely the geopolitical struggle in the region is being waged.
The young and brave leader, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, intervening and forcing his minister to sign the agreement clearly demonstrated which direction the Baghdad administration prefers. Because the matter is not just a transportation project. This project is a project that will change the economic axis of the Middle East.
In short… The Tigris and Euphrates have been the lifeline of Mesopotamia for thousands of years. Today, Turkey and Iraq are trying to bring a third river to this ancient geography: The Development Road Project, that is, the River of Economy… This river that nourished Rome, Byzantium, and the Ottomans is being revived after centuries… This river will not carry water; it will carry hope. It will not just flow with oil; it will flow with prosperity. It will carry not just freight wagons, but the shared future of peoples.
History has shown us that when trade routes open, war paths narrow. When ports operate, weapons fall silent. When railways extend, the walls of enmity shorten. Because what most strongly connects people to each other is often not politics, but common interest and a shared future…
Today, Turkey is not just growing its own economic interests; it is putting forward a multi-layered vision aimed at Iraq’s recovery, the Gulf’s integration with Europe, and the transformation of the Middle East into a new belt of stability. If this vision succeeds, not only Ankara and Baghdad, but a vast geography extending from Damascus to Basra, from Mosul to Mersin, from Qatar to Europe’s industrial cities, will come out ahead.
Perhaps, years from now, historians will write this period as “the era when the Middle East turned from oil wars to trade routes.” On that day, Ali al-Zaidi’s words, “Let the third river be a river of economy,” will be remembered not just as a beautiful metaphor, but as the symbol of a new civilizational conception and a new regional development move. And Turkey’s step is exactly this: to build, alongside the Tigris and Euphrates, a third river that connects not borders, but hearts and economies. This river will flow not only into the future of Turkey and Iraq, but into the future of the entire region…
Source: netgercek.com
