26 Feb 2021; MEMO: Turkey and Iraq are planning to open a new border crossing, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister, Adil Karaismailoglu, announced yesterday.
"The next phase will witness meetings between the public and private infrastructure companies in the two countries," Karaismailoglu said during a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart, Nasser Hussein Bandar. He added that the agreement aims to aid "enhancing the prosperity and quality of life of the Iraqi people."
The Turkish official pointed out that the move was aiming at "establishing close cooperation with Iraq to develop its infrastructure," noting that the two countries were intending "to open a new border crossing and establish a railway between them."
For his part, Bandar said that Iraq was "keen on establishing close cooperation with Turkey in the fields of land, air and rail transport," stressing that the Iraqi government was planning "to open a transit line between the two countries as soon as possible."
