Turkey’s $5bn Iraq pledge marks new era in bilateral relations

Ankara wants stronger ties with Baghdad after the two nations took a common position against the Iraqi Kurdistan’s independence referendum

About $30 billion in loans and investments was secured at a donor conference in Kuwait on Wednesday. Iraq said it needs almost $90 billion for reconstruction efforts after three years of devastation by Daesh.

Turkey was by far the biggest contributor and also committed to provide $50 million to its neighbor for project support, along with social, cultural and economic projects by Turkish state aid agency TIKA.

The apparently generous support in the form of investment loans and guarantees marks a significant turning point for relations between the two countries.

The countries have been at odds over the presence of Turkish troops in Bashiqa in northern Iraq, where Turkey set up a camp in March 2015 to train local Sunni groups and Kurdish Peshmerga to fight against Daesh around Mosul.

Considering that Turkey spent just $6 billion on humanitarian aid in 2016, the pledge to Iraq came as a surprise to many.

Turkey, one of Iraq’s largest trading partners, hopes the pledge promises a “new opening” for Turkish businesses active in the country — particularly in infrastructure, consumer goods, construction and transportation.

But the loans also show how Turkey views the strategic importance attached to the country and a willingness to increase regional stability.

Analysts say Turkey wants to build on relations that were strengthened when the two countries took a common position against the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) referendum for independence in September.

Bilgay Duman, an expert on Iraqi affairs at Ankara-based think tank ORSAM, said the financial assistance consolidates Turkey’s partnership with the Iraqi central government in fighting against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the region.

The PKK has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state and both Baghdad and Ankara oppose the PKK’s presence in the Sinjar region of northern Iraq.

“Ankara’s anti-PKK efforts do not only target its own domestic security, but it also helps Iraqi central government in consolidating its territorial integrity and political unity ahead of the parliamentary elections on May 12, especially considering the presence of the PKK around Kirkuk,” he said.

Duman said the deepening of relations between Ankara and Baghdad was also meant as a counterweight to the potential clout of Iran in the region.

Iran-backed militias have become increasingly powerful in Iraq after the role they played against Daesh, and Ankara, along with Arab countries sees their sectarian agenda as a threat to stability both in Iraq and the region.

Duman said the Turkish financial help not only aims at reconstruction of infrastructure in Iraq, but it also helps with nationwide reconciliation.

“Besides helping the resettlement of displaced communities in Iraq due to Daesh, some part of this money is expected to be used for increasing the integration of all Sunni communities into the political and social process and for combating radicalization in the country,” Duman told Arab News.

Turkey-Iraq relations were recently advanced further with the establishment of a joint committee for water management.

Soon after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavusoglu visited Baghdad last month, Turkey decided to increase the amount of water allocated to Iraq from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in line with Baghdad’s demands.

Cavusoglu was also the first senior Turkish official to visit Iraq after the government declared victory against Daesh in December.

Turkey had pledged to withdraw its troops from Bashiqa once the extremists’ presence in Iraq was completely over.

“As a neighbor, friend and reliable partner, we will always stand by our Iraqi brothers,” Çavusoglu said on Twitter.

Duman said helping improve Iraq’s infrastructure and housing will also help some 400,000 Iraqi refugees in Turkey to get back home,”

Muhanad Seloom, associate lecturer in international relations at the University of Exeter, said the Turkish financial support demonstrates Ankara’s desire to cooperate and coordinate with the Iraqi government on issues beyond the obvious mutual economic benefits.

“Such cooperation and coordination will only be possible through shared economic, political, and security interests,” he told Arab News.

“The Iraqi government has coordinated closely with the Turkish government ahead of the KRG’s independence referendum to protect Iraq’s territorial integrity,” he said.

ANKARA: A $5 billion commitment from Turkey to Baghdad to help rebuild the country is a clear statement of intent from Ankara of its ambitions in the country.