Iraq, Turkey, UAE, Qatar to hold four-way summit on Development Road project

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Turkish media outlets said on Wednesday that Turkey, Iraq, the UAE, and Qatar will hold a four-way ministerial summit on the Development Road project that connects Iraq to Europe via Turkey.

The Turkish Minister of Transport, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, said recently that the expected quadripartite summit will be held during the next two months.

Regarding the agreement recently signed on the same project between the four countries in Baghdad, Uraloglu explained that although the deal was bilateral, the UAE and Qatar were included through Turkish and Iraqi efforts.

The Turkish minister elaborated that weekly meetings are taking place between officials from Turkey and Iraq.

Additionally, Uraloglu stated that once the Development Road is operational, trade exchange between Turkey and Iraq will increase from $20 billion to $30 or $40 billion.

Iraq, Turkey, the UAE, and Qatar signed last week a quadripartite agreement on Iraq’s Development Road project under the auspices of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, and the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The agreement aims to enhance cooperation regarding Iraq’s Development Road, as the four countries will develop the necessary frameworks to carry out the project.

The strategic project of the Development Road is expected to stimulate economic growth and promote regional and international cooperation relations as it will achieve economic integration and sustainability between East and West.

The Development Road is the name given by the Iraqi government to what was known as the dry canal that connects the Al-Faw Grand Port in southern Iraq with the Turkish territories through railway networks and roads.

It will extend for 1,200 kilometers from Al-Faw port town in southern Iraq to Faysh Khabur town in the northern Iraqi governorate of Duhok.