Economics top the agenda as Al-Jaafari visits the Turkish capital, reports Gareth Jenkins from Ankara Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Al- Jaafari was in Turkey last week in his first foreign trip since taking office. It was a clear demonstration that, for all their differences and suspicions, the two countries are aware that they need to cooperate both on security issues and, more importantly, in the economic field. Significantly, Al-Jaafari was accompanied by five trade and infrastructure ministers. "Iraq and our brother Turkey have shared destiny and common interests. These concern oil, water resources and energy," said Al-Jaafari when he arrived in Ankara last Thursday. But, inevitably, bilateral talks between Al-Jaafari and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan also focussed on security issues. Over the last two years, Iraq has served as a magnet for Turkish Islamist militants, who have slipped across the porous border between the two countries to join the insurgency against the US-led occupying forces. While in recent months members of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have infiltrated into southeastern Turkey from camps in the mountains of northern Iraq. So far this year over 100 people have been killed in clashes in southeastern Turkey between PKK militants and the Turkish security forces. During his visit to Turkey, Al- Jaafari was presented with a list of 150 leading PKK militants whom the Turkish authorities claim are still in northern Iraq. "The Iraqi administration has assured us that it is ready to take measures to prevent the activities of the terrorist organization," Erdogan told Turkish journalists. But Al-Jaafari freely admitted that the Iraqi security forces were currently unable to suppress the country's domestic insurgency, and that for the foreseeable future Iraq would still have to depend on the US-led occupation forces. "There is no doubt that the withdrawal of the multinational forces in Iraq is dependent on the development of Iraq's own security forces and making them effective," he said. Al-Jaafari's lack of confidence in Iraq's own security capabilities was demonstrated by the fact that during his visit to Turkey, in addition to the protection provided by his hosts, he was guarded by US rather than Iraqi bodyguards. Turkish officials said Ankara had offered to train the new Iraqi security forces, although it was unclear whether the offer had been accepted. Many in Iraq remain suspicious of Turkey's motives. Few Turks make any secret of their nostalgia for the Ottoman Empire. Turkish ultranationalists have long argued that the Iraqi provinces of Mosul and Kirkuk were stolen from the Ottomans by the British at the end of World War I. More recently, the possibility of the emergence of a Kurdish political entity in northern Iraq, which Ankara fears could fuel separatist sentiments amongst its own still restive Kurdish minority, has given Turkey another reason to desire a say in the way Iraq is governed. But nor is there any doubt that the two countries need each other economically. Last year bilateral trade totalled $1.5 billion; a figure which could double or even triple if and when the internal situation in Iraq stabilises. Cross-border trade with Iraq has already given a substantial boost to the local economy in the desperately impoverished southeast of Turkey. During their meeting in Ankara Erdogan and Al-Jaafari discussed the opening of a second border gate in addition to the often congested crossing at Habur. While Turkish contractors are already eyeing the possibility of lucrative projects once the rebuilding of Iraq's battered infrastructure finally gets under way. Turkey is also looking for alternative supplies for energy, not just oil but also natural gas. Although it already has commitments to purchase large volumes of gas from Iran and Russia, both are expensive and hostage to bilateral political ties. There are also concerns that the ongoing standoff between Washington and Tehran over the latter's alleged nuclear weapons programme may result in the US trying to impose sanctions against Iran. For the Iraqis, Turkey represents not only the largest and most developed economy in the region -- and an attractive energy market in its own right -- but also a possible conduit for energy supplies to Europe. While officials from the two countries discussed the possibility of Turkey supplying much-needed electricity to Iraq, at least until it is able to rebuild its power generating capacity. Iraqi officials were also keen to discuss water, although in the short- term the opportunities for cooperation are arguably more limited. Not only is there a growing domestic demand for water in Turkey but, unlike the Tigris, Iraq's other main source of fresh water, the Euphrates passes through Syria, which has its own water needs, before it enters Iraqi territory. Nevertheless, Al-Jaafari was keen to stress Iraq's willingness to reward Turkey if only it would provide political and economic support to his fledgling administration. "Iraq has very rich natural resources," he said. "Iraq will never forget the countries which support it."
