Watershed Project Between Turkey and Iraq. New “Silk Road”

A new significant infrastructure project will connect the Persian Gulf with Europe. Türkiye, Iraq, Qatar and the UAE have agreed on construction, which will be completed by 2028.

The cost of the so-called “Development Road” reached $17 billion.

Turkey, Iraq, Qatar and the UAE signed a quadripartite Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation within the framework of this project at the Government Palace in Baghdad. The signing took place under the auspices of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

The project provides for the construction of 1,200 km of roads and railways connecting Turkey with Iraq. Transport links will connect the Gulf countries with Europe.

The “Development Road” will increase the economic and strategic attractiveness of the entire region, as the shortest route between the East and Europe, which will reduce the distance compared to the sea route through the Suez Canal. Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu said: “Ships pass through the Suez Canal in 35 days. The journey through the Cape of Good Hope takes up to 45 days. When we complete the construction of the Development Road, transportation times will be reduced to 25 days.”

The official visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iraq took place for the first time in the last 12 years. He reported a turning point in Turkish-Iraqi relations.