Adil Abdul-Mahdi will pay an official visit upon the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said a statement.

Counter-terrorism efforts, the reconstruction of Iraq and cooperation in the trade and energy sectors are expected to be the focus of the visit.

The leaders are expected to discuss steps to improve cooperation between the two countries as well as regional and international issues concerning both Turkey and Iraq.

The Iraqi and Turkish leaders also plan to discuss the PKK presence in the Sinjar region of Iraq, the new border crossing to be established between the two countries, increasing the trade volume of $10 billion to over $20 billion and water issues.

Following the visit of the Iraqi prime minister, a Turkish delegation chaired by Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan will attend the Turkey-Iraq Business Forum in Baghdad. Iraq is committed to maintaining balanced bilateral relations with Turkey and other neighboring countries in the region, the Iraqi parliament speaker said on April 20.

“We have very good relations and promising economic projects with Turkey,” Mohammed al-Halbusi said in a speech to a Baghdad summit of parliament heads of neighboring countries.

Erdogan will visit Iraq as part of the fourth High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting towards the end of this year.

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