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In Baghdad, Hakan Fidan discusses Development Road and security with Iraq’s leaders
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, in Baghdad for an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting, held separate talks with Iraq’s president, prime minister and parliament speaker. He said Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has a “very serious vision” for advancing ties with Türkiye.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attended the 52nd session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and handed over the council’s rotating chairmanship, which Türkiye had held for about a year and a half, to Iraq. During a busy day of talks on Oct. 17, Fidan met Iraq’s top officials, including President Nizar Amidi, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Council of Representatives Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi.
Speaking to reporters after the meetings, Fidan said he had spent a long but productive day in Baghdad. He said he and his Iraqi counterparts had discussed raising Turkish-Iraqi relations to a level unseen in history through constructive will, as well as the constructive role Türkiye could play in easing the hardships of recent history that have affected Iraqi society.
“A very serious vision” from Prime Minister al-Zaidi
Commenting on his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, Fidan said: “Mr. al-Zaidi truly has a very serious vision for taking relations with Türkiye forward. We also see the positive and constructive impact of this vision in Iraq’s policies.” He said they had seen that al-Zaidi had a strong will to identify Iraq’s problems and take practical steps, adding that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Türkiye support such constructive policies.
Fidan said energy, connectivity, the Development Road Project, security and defense cooperation, counterterrorism and Sinjar were discussed in detail. “God willing, the other problems in the region will also be resolved soon through dialogue and peace, so that the atmosphere in Iraq eases and the region evolves into a more peaceful climate,” he said.
Talks with President Amidi and Speaker al-Halbousi
Fidan was also received by Iraqi President Nizar Amidi. Conveying President Erdoğan’s greetings and congratulating Amidi on his new post, Fidan said: “This was the first time we met face to face since he took office. He is a statesman we knew before. Mr. Nizar is a figure who served alongside previous presidents.”
Fidan also conveyed Erdoğan’s greetings to Council of Representatives Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi. “We reviewed many issues, particularly those on the Iraqi parliament’s agenda and, above all, Türkiye-Iraq relations,” he said.
Security agenda: al-Hashd al-Shaabi and disarmament
Fidan also met Falih al-Fayyadh, chairman of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Commission, known as al-Hashd al-Shaabi. Noting that their acquaintance dates back to his years at Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT), Fidan said: “We had the opportunity to assess many issues, especially the current situation of the Hashd al-Shaabi, regional developments, the steps taken toward disarming certain armed groups in Iraq and where things stand, Türkiye-Iraq relations and the security perspective.”
In Fidan’s meeting with Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Abboudi, the security dimension of bilateral relations and its implications for regional ties and security policies were on the agenda.
Fidan also discussed bilateral relations, the general political situation and regional developments with his Iraqi counterpart, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.
His program in Baghdad also included a meeting with Faiq Zaidan, head of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council.
Turkmens are “loyal citizens of Iraq”
Fidan also met Mehmet Seman Ağaoğlu, Iraq’s minister of state and leader of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF), and an accompanying Turkmen delegation. Congratulating Ağaoğlu, who moved from the post of Kirkuk governor to the Iraqi government as minister of state, Fidan said, “It was important that a minister came from the Front,” and added that he had conveyed President Erdoğan’s thanks for this to Prime Minister al-Zaidi and Speaker al-Halbousi.
Stressing that Ankara has followed the Turkmens’ problems for years, Fidan said: “The solution to these problems is not independent of the solution to Iraq’s general problems and other problems. They need to be managed by linking them to each other.” Describing the Turkmen community as a constructive part of Iraq’s overall fabric, he said: “They are loyal citizens of Iraq. They are also very conscious about preserving their own identity. That is exactly what we want.”
A warning about Israel from the OIC podium
Addressing the opening of the council, which convened under the theme “Dialogue and Solidarity: Two Fundamental Pillars for Promoting Peace and Sustainable Development,” Fidan said: “Israel’s expansionist policies and attacks constitute the greatest security threat in the Middle East. We must demonstrate a common will against these policies and act in close coordination with international actors.”
Fidan said decisive steps must be taken against countries that have moved their embassies to Jerusalem and stressed that the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the basis of the two-state solution. He said the full and uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need in Gaza is vital, that Israel must fully withdraw from southern Lebanon and that preserving freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb is essential.
After his speech, Fidan handed over the council chairmanship to Iraq. He said very important issues of close concern to the Islamic world, above all the Palestinian question, had been examined and discussed in depth at the meeting. Türkiye had assumed the chairmanship at the 51st Council of Foreign Ministers held in Istanbul in June 2025.
During his contacts in Baghdad, Fidan also held separate meetings with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
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