Consolidating economic occupation of S. Kurdistan... focus of Barzani -Erdogan's talk

The President of the Federal Region of Southern Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during Barzani's visit to Turkey.

Before meeting Erdogan, Nechirvan Barzani met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Turkish Intelligence Service Chief Ibrahim Kalin.

Barzani's visit comes days before the parliamentary elections in the Federal Region of Southern Kurdistan, and at a time when the arena is witnessing a strong struggle between the main political forces participating in the elections.

The head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) harshly criticized Barzani and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and accused Barzani and his party of "squandering the unity of Kurdistan in favor of the occupiers," referring to the agreements signed with Turkey.

Activists see Nechirvan Barzani's visit, which coincides with the approaching elections, as an attempt to win the votes of the Kurdish street in the region during the upcoming elections.

Meanwhile, the official website of the Kurdistan Region Presidency indicated that Barzani discussed with Erdogan "the issue of developing relations, especially in the economic field."

The website said that the two sides "discussed ways to raise the level of trade exchange, job opportunities, and employing Turkish capital in various parts of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region."

While Barzani sees building relations with the Turkish side as a positive step, this leads to a negative impact on local trade, according to economic experts, amid the imposition of the Turkish occupation state's complete hegemony over the region's economy.

T/ Satt.

ANHA