A forthcoming meeting with Türkiye paves the way for a “Development Road” agreement.
A forthcoming meeting with Türkiye paves the way for a “Development Road” agreement.
2026/08/23
The Ministry of Transport revealed that a third meeting with the Turkish side is imminent, with the aim of finalizing the discussions and concluding a cooperation agreement to implement the Development Road project. While it reported that the completion rates of the railway project plans have reached 90 percent, it indicated that multiple options have been proposed to finance the implementation, including the oil-for-reconstruction mechanism.
The Ministry’s Director of Media and Government Communication, Hussein Ahmed, told Al-Sabah newspaper that the Strategic Development Road project is proceeding in three main phases: design, implementation, and operation. He added that each phase involves three steps, beginning with preliminary discussions and meetings, followed by the signing of memoranda of understanding, then agreements, and finally contracts. He further stated that the design phase is well underway, with the railway plans nearing 90% completion and those for the roadway exceeding 95%. He confirmed that the Italian company responsible for the design work is continuing its work according to schedule, without encountering any obstacles. Ahmed explained that the second phase, implementation, has already begun with the signing of a framework memorandum of understanding with the Turkish side. This memorandum does not entail any direct legal or financial obligations, but rather provides a framework that allows both parties to move towards finalizing a cooperation agreement for the project’s execution.
He also mentioned in the same context that the upcoming meetings between the two sides will discuss the visions and mechanisms for implementing the project, how to manage the implementation phase, as well as the financial commitments and guarantees required, securing the necessary logistical services and facilities, in addition to discussing the proposals and methodologies put forward by each party regarding the implementation phases.
The Director of Media and Government Communication indicated that the first meeting, which was held at the beginning of this month, and the second at the end of last week, with the participation of representatives from three Iraqi ministries and their counterparts from the Turkish side, in addition to the SOMO company, focused on several files, most notably the establishment of a project financing account and the mechanism for managing it, with both sides presenting their visions regarding the management of the account and the mechanisms for financing the project phases.
He added that the discussions addressed the possibility of adopting the oil-for-reconstruction formula in the contract between the two parties, whether to implement the project in its entirety or to complete specific stages of it, which he noted would be subject, along with the rest of the financial and technical details, to further study, maturation and review by the Council of Ministers, the House of Representatives and the relevant and advisory bodies, before a decision is made on it.
Ahmed revealed that the coming days will witness a third meeting between the two sides, to mature the ideas and reach a final formula for the cooperation agreement for the implementation of the development road, which will be presented to the Council of Ministers for voting, and referred to the Presidency of the Republic, before being sent to the House of Representatives for ratification, after which the stage of concluding contracts and moving to implementation will begin.
alsabaah.iq
