“I am delighted to have met with President [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] once again in Ankara,” President Barzani said in a post on social media platform X. "Our discussions covered a range of issues, including enhancing regional stability, and further strengthening the ties between the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and Turkiye.” 

 

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan who met with Barzani upon his arrival in Ankara, also attended the two presidents’ meeting at the Turkish Presidential complex. 

 

Barzani described his meeting with Fidan and Ibrahim Kalin, head of the National Intelligence Organization of Turkey as “fruitful”.

 

Regional tensions are high amid soaring escalations between Lebanese Hezbollah and the Israeli military.

 

The two sides have engaged in frequent cross-border exchanges of fire for over a year, but tensions have been at an unprecedented high for nearly a month after a major cyberattack in Lebanon in mid-September.

 

Both sides have intensified their strikes in recent weeks. The Israeli army has launched a ground aggression in southern Lebanon aimed at “dismantling” Hezbollah and its capabilities, and also killed several top “Axis of Resistance” leaders, including former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

 

President Barzani’s visit to Ankara comes six months after the Turkish president’s visit to Baghdad and Erbil.

 

Dilshad Shahab, spokesperson of the Kurdistan Region Presidency had earlier said that President Barzani and Erdogn would touch upon issues of “mutual interest."

 

The Kurdish president is also set to meet Ahmed Abdul Ghent, secretary-general of the Arab League in Ankara. 

 

Barzani’s last visit to Turkey was in March where he attended the Antalya Diplomacy Forum and met Erdogan on the sidelines of the event. 

 

The Kurdistan Region and Turkey enjoy strong economic relations with trade volume said to be over five billion dollars between Erbil and Ankara every year.