ERBIL () — Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed on Wednesday to deepen security and economic cooperation, including restoring full Iraqi state authority in Sinjar district of Nineveh province and gradually transferring the Bashiqa-Zilkan military base to the Iraqi federal government.
The agreements were announced in a joint statement issued after the two leaders met in New York on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
According to the statement, the two sides agreed to “fully extend the authority of the Iraqi state in Sinjar” and end the presence of what they described as “banned foreign armed elements” in the area.
They also agreed that, in light of Iraq’s progress in addressing security issues, Turkish forces would gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zilkan military base to Baghdad according to an agreed mechanism and timetable.
The two governments said they would deepen security cooperation as part of broader negotiations on their strategic relations and cooperation in political, economic, and security fields.
