Security, the Missing Ring in Iraq-Turkey Development Road Project

Alwaght- Over a year has gone since unveiling of the ambitious 'development road' project by Iraq, but the 1,200-km long railway project is yet to be initiated. The Iraqi government, which dreamed much before the project and is in a hurry to start its operations, has stepped up negotiations and coordination with foreign partners.

In this regard, while the Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani of Iraq visited Turkey to hold the last consultations and negotiations with the Turkish officials about this joint project, on Thursday last week, the second meeting of the quadripartite council of ministers of partner countries in the development road project was held in Baghdad.

In the meeting that consisted of Iraq, Turkey, Qatar, and the UAE, the council of ministers decided to establish a coordination body to manage the project. 

In the closing statement of this meeting, it was said that the establishment of a coordination body to manage the work of the development road project, as well as the activation of joint cooperation necessary for the implementation of all work related to the project, including technical and engineering studies and consulting to complete the requirements of the project, has been approved.

The statement stressed on the need for cooperation among the four countries to integrate the transportation network and giving effective and economical alternatives for passenger and goods transportation. 

The statement called on the member states to, in addition to sharing experiences, work for creating effective and joint opportunities with relevant international organizations and bodies including the World Bank, the International Financial Organization, and others with the aim of backing realization of the goals of the project. 

The development road project includes Iraq's investment of $18 billion for development of Al-Faw Port, the Iraq-Turkey railway connection and a 1,200-kilometer long dry channel inside Iraq, which aims to connect Asia to Europe and facilitate the transportation of goods between Europe and the Persian Gulf Arab states. 

The project captures attention of (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council 

Although the development road project was initiated in its first step with the cooperation of Turkey and Iraq during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Baghdad in April, it did not take long for the neighboring Arab countries in the Persian Gulf to make their way to this project and became its main partners. 

European and Eastern companies were planned to develop Al-Faw Port project for $4.6 billion, but UAE's AD Ports Group was tasked with the job, and on April 21 a contract was signed between General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) and the Emirati ports giant.

Although the cost of this project is announced at $18 billion, it is likely to exceed $24 billion. Having in mind that experts believe that the cost of the railway between Gazianteb (a city in the southeast of Turkey) and the Ovakoy trade crossing (on the border of Turkey and Mosul province of Iraq) alone can reach $5 billion, it becomes clear that the $18 billion estimate is unreal. In this situation, the role of the UAE and Qatar as wealthy partners of the project becomes more important, which can reduce the uncertainties related to project financing. 

In the meantime, Saudi Arabia, which has started maritime transport agreements with Iraq several years ago, can appear as a new potential partner in the future. A Saudi company recently announced that it has launched a new shipping line connecting the ports of Dammam and Umm Qasr to two of the largest commercial ports in India, namely Nhava Sheva and Mundra. 

The news was broken by Falak Marine, a company affiliated with Saudi Public Investment Fund. 

According to the official news agency of Saudi Arabia (SPA), the new shipping line named "India Gulf Service" was launched on October 30, 2024, and it is said that the ship Asterios with a capacity of 1,827 tons is supposed to bring goods imported from India to the port of Umm Qasr port in Iraq. 

Dammam port is one of the most important ports in Saudi Arabia and among the 10 largest ports in West Asia, with annual loading capacity of 2.7 million tons. 

This port cooperation is part of the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iraq for the development of maritime transport, which was signed by the parties in September 2021, during which the emphasis was placed on strengthening the role of ports and encouraging shipping lines between King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam and Umm Qasr Port in Iraq. 

Security challenges motivating parallel routes

The development road in comparison to the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC), which was announced in September 2023, has undeniable advantage in terms of speed and transportation capacity. 

The biggest advantage promised in the design of the development road project is its high speed and low cost, which, according to Iraqi officials, will reduce the time of transporting goods to the European market by up to 10 days compared to the Suez Canal and even the under-construction IMEC. As a result, costs of transportation will be significantly cut. 

However, the issue of security is the most important and main challenge that has begun to haunt this ambitious project, to an extent that shortly after its approval, a comprehensive security cooperation pact between Turkey and Iraq was signed in August. According to experts, one of its main aims is to jointly deal with the security threats facing this project, especially the extensive presence of archenemy of Turkey the PKK on the borders of Iraq and Turkey. 

During al-Sudani's visit to Turkey, security cooperation between the two sides was emphasized again. Erdogan, referring to the numerous advantages of cooperation opportunities in the development project, said that terrorist groups pose security risks to Turkey and Iraq, and the unceasing fight against all terrorist groups will serve the peace and stability of the two countries.

Qasim al-Aarji, Iraq's national security advisor, visited Turkey last week and talked with the country's officials, including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, to expand partnership.

Although Turkey and Iraq seek presenting an outlook of stability in investment and partnership in the development road project by showing a resolve in cooperation to deter security threats, the security challenges remain to pose a big obstacle to tight competition with secure and fast-developing routes like Iran's North-South Corridor.