Türkiye’s intelligence chief met with top Iraqi and Kurdish officials this week to discuss expanding security cooperation and Ankara’s ongoing counterterrorism efforts, as both sides pledged closer coordination against cross-border threats.
İbrahim Kalın held talks July 1 in Baghdad with senior Iraqi leaders, including President Nizar Amedi, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Parliament Speaker Hibat Halbusi.
Amedi said during the meeting that dialogue and mutual understanding are key to resolving crises and stressed the importance of joint efforts to safeguard regional security and stability, according to Iraqi officials.
Kalın also met Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council chief Faik Zeydan, National Security Adviser Basim al-Badri and several political leaders.
The intelligence chief reiterated Ankara’s determination to continue coordination with Iraq across all security and intelligence areas, according to Türkiye’s state-run Anadolu Agency.
In Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, Kalın held separate talks in Erbil with Masoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Bafil Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
According to statements from both parties, discussions focused on strengthening relations between Iraq, the regional government and Türkiye, as well as broader regional developments and security cooperation.
Talabani said the talks were part of efforts to support what he described as a “historic” peace process in Türkiye, aimed at strengthening coexistence and achieving wider stability in the Middle East. Kalın was expected to continue his contacts in the region.
As part of Ankara’s “terror-free Türkiye” campaign, PKK has previously announced a ceasefire and later declared its intention to dissolve itself and lay down arms, a development the government has described as a significant step toward ending decades of violence.
