Iraqi leader arrives in Turkey for security talks
16 November 2006 (AP Worldstream)
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrived in Turkey on Thursday for a two-day visit to discuss the deteriorating security situation in his country and Turkey's fight against Kurdish guerrillas.
Al-Maliki met Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and also planned to discuss bilateral ties with Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc and other officials.
Turkey is worried that ethnic and sectarian clashes are pulling Iraq toward a civil war that could break the country apart in several autonomous sections and lead to the emergence of an independent Kurdish state on its border.
Turkey fears such a development could encourage separatist Kurds in Turkey to revolt and is urging Iraq and the United States to root out Kurdish guerrillas, who have been waging hit-and-run attacks from Iraq in Turkey's southeast since 1984. More than 37,000 people have died in the fighting.
Turkey is also concerned about Iraqi Kurds who seek control of the Kurdish-majority, northern oil center of Kirkuk — a move they fear could help precipitate Kurdish independence.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul warned Tuesday that allowing Iraq to split apart would force its neighbors to take action and usher in "an unbelievable new era of darkness."
Al-Maliki's visit was originally scheduled for Oct. 16, but was canceled after a sand storm in Baghdad prevented his plane from taking off.
The Iraqi leader is accompanied by a large portion of his Cabinet, including Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, who is a Kurd, and economy-related ministers.
Iraq's minister of state for national security, Sherwan al-Waili, planned to meet Turkish security officials for talks on possible cooperation in Turkey's fight against Kurdish guerrillas.
Iraqi leader arrives in Turkey for security talks | Iraq Updates
$437 million for transport sector
16 November 2006 (Azzaman)
The government has earmarked $437 million for the construction of new roads and bridges and the rehabilitation of the existing transport systems, a senior transport official said.
Shirin Barwari, head of contracts at the Transport Communication Ministry, said a large portion of the money is part of the U.S. grant to reconstruct the country.
U.S. Agency for International Development is involved in scores of projects in Iraq and is perhaps the only foreign agency actively participating in the Iraqi reconstruction.
Shirin said the agency would directly finance many of the projects which include airports, railways, roads and bridges.
Part of the money, she said, will be spent on improving conditions on Iraqi highways and airports.
The airports in Baghdad, Basra and Mosul will get priority, she said.
Some 110 land projects for which $155 have been allocated will be implemented, she said.
In the railway sector there will 99 projects at a cost of $41 million, she added.
The rest of the money will be spent on ports at the head of the Gulf to handle a surge in foreign shipments. The port in Basra will be expanded with the addition of new platforms, Shirin said.
$437 million for transport sector | Iraq Updates