Iraq’s Development Road Project an ‘opportunity to build a new world’: Turkish president

NEW YORK (AA) – Türkiye will have an opportunity to “build a new world” with steps taken on Iraq’s Development Road Project linking southern Iraq to its neighbor Türkiye, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday.

Speaking at the Concordia summit in New York, where he is taking part in UN General Assembly meetings, President Erdogan said: “Through taking such a step, we will have the opportunity to build a new world.

“We have seen that the Gulf countries are very determined. We are determined too,” he said.

Asked about Türkiye’s role as a NATO member and its national interests as well as geopolitical tensions, the president said that Türkiye is one of the oldest members of NATO and also among the five key countries in the alliance.

“Türkiye is a country that strictly fulfills our duties within NATO,” he said, adding it will continue to do its part.

On Turkish-US relations, he said that Ankara and Washington have “multidimensional relations” in areas ranging from security to trade, noting that they have a trade volume of over $32 billion.

Asked about the world refugee crisis, President Erdogan said that some countries, including the US and Germany, are positive in their approach to refugees.

He said that Türkiye, which is currently home to nearly 5 million refugees, will continue to host these refugees.

He added that Türkiye encourages the safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees, noting that it is working to build houses in northern Syria with the support of Qatar.

With the completion of permanent housing, one million Syrians will be able to return to their country, and so far, around 600,000 have already started to return, he said.