ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani met with the Turkish president on Friday while on a previously unannounced trip to Turkey.
Sudani met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Vahdettin Mansion where they discussed “recent regional developments and the growing threat to peace and stability posed by ongoing aggression from the Zionist entity against Gaza and Lebanon”, the prime minister’s office said in a post on X.
“They urged Arab and Islamic countries, as well as international and United Nations organizations, to support efforts to achieve a ceasefire, facilitate relief operations, deliver aid to those affected,” the statement read.
Palestinian Hamas launched a large-scale incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,170 people, according to Israeli figures. Israel responded with a massive ongoing offensive in Gaza, killing over 40,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Sudani and Erdogan also discussed “bilateral relations between Iraq and Turkey, exploring ways to activate memorandums of understanding and joint agreements in various economic and development sectors.”
Border security and shared water resources are two major issues shared by the neighbours.
The two leaders last met in New York in late September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Updated at 4:49 PM
