Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has urged Iraq’s prime minister-designate to form a government which reflects the country’s religious and ethnic diversity.
In a weekend phone call, Erdoğan congratulated Ali al-Zaidi on his appointment, expressing hope he would swiftly form an “inclusive, balanced, and stable” administration.
Last week, a coalition of Iraqi Shia political blocs nominated al-Zaidi to replace outgoing Prime Minister Mohamed Shia' al-Sudani.
Under Iraq’s constitution, al-Zaidi has 30 days from his appointment to assemble a cabinet and present it to parliament for approval.
During the call, Erdoğan also stressed that Iraq’s sizeable Türkmen community represents a key component of the two countries’ fraternal relations.
Iraqi Türkmen, who are ethnically Turkic and speak a dialect of Turkish, are concentrated largely in the country’s north.
Although no official census exists, Türkmen are generally believed to make up between 7% and 13% of Iraq’s population, making them the country’s third-largest ethnic group.
Al-Zaidi, a relative newcomer to Iraqi politics, is a successful businessman who holds degrees in law, finance and banking.
Speaking shortly after his appointment, he pledged to form a government “that responds to citizens’ demands for security, stability, and comprehensive development.”
Last month, Türkiye welcomed the election of Mehmet Seman Ağaoğlu, a prominent local Türkmen politician, as governor of Iraq’s oil-rich northern Kirkuk province.
In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry described Ağaoğlu’s election - he also heads the Iraqi Türkmen Front - as a “historic development in terms of inclusivity and fair representation”.
It added that his appointment was a “long-overdue acknowledgement of a legitimate right for our Türkmen kinsmen, who are an integral component of Iraq and Kirkuk.”
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