Turkish PM visits Iraq to sign deals

'Pakistan Times' Monitoring Desk

BAGHDAD (Iraq): Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Iraq on Thursday to sign a raft of agreements aimed at boosting economic and political ties between the neighbours, an Iraqi official said.

On his arrival in Baghdad, Erdogan went into talks with his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.

According to Dabbagh, "about 50 agreements will be signed" between the two countries during the visit by Erdogan, who is accompanied by nine of his ministers.

In September, delegations from the two countries, led by their foreign ministers, held two-day talks in Istanbul to prepare the ground for Erdogan's visit and negotiate the accords to be signed.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at the time the objective was to "secure a genuine economic integration on the highest possible level" between the two neighbours, whose ties have often been troubled by separatist Kurdish rebels taking refuge in the mountains of northern Iraq.