Iraqi PM: PKK activity to end with cooperation
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 18, 2009 00:00
KARBALA - The means to defeating the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, are to be found in cooperation and mutual understanding between Turkey and Iraq, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Friday.
Al-Maliki attended the groundbreaking ceremony of a hospital to be built by a Turkish company, Universal Acarsan, in the Iraqi city of Karbala. Universal Acarsan will construct five fully equipped hospitals in Iraq, at a total cost of $750 million.
When asked about security and battling terrorism, al-Maliki said Turkey was a friendly country, an ally, that had been helping Iraq on different levels on anti-terrorism issues.
The Iraqi prime minister said that cooperation between the two countries continues against the PKK, which they accept as a terrorist organization. Al-Maliki said the PKK had taken advantage of northern Iraq’s complicated geographical structure and steep mountains to remain on Iraqi soil.
"We have a trustworthy cooperation with Turkey in order to put an end to this terrorist organization and other terrorist organizations that want to harm ally neighboring countries," he added. "Regarding Turkey’s possible interference in northern Iraq, the issue is larger and more complicated than imagined. There is great need for cooperation. I know the mountains that the PKK takes shelter in; they are steep mountains. We will find ways to stop this organization’s activities and finish the organization through our collaboration with Turkey and our mutual understanding." According to al-Maliki, relations between Turkey and Iraq have developed and they are searching ways to improve them further. He added that he had called on all Turkish companies, through the Turkish government, to enter the Iraqi market.
Trust Turkish companies
"We trust the Turkish companies’ determination, the concern they show to finish the job on time and the care they show for the job itself," the Iraqi prime minister said. "We tried to make sure Turkey’s share in constructing the hospitals was greater. We decided to build 10 hospitals in the first stage and insisted that at least Turkish companies build five of these. This is not the end, but the start. We hope that under the improving relations between the two countries, Turkish companies take a greater role in the reconstruction of Iraq."
The five hospitals will be built by Universal Acarsan. The company’s Iraq representative, Fikret Bayraktar, said the project includes the building of five fully equipped training hospitals in five cities, each 65,000 square meters in size with a 400-bed capacity.
According to Bayraktar, when they applied for the project, the most support came from al-Maliki himself. "Prime Minister al-Maliki said that if the Turkish companies had the capacity, five of the hospitals should be built by them. We said we had the capacity and were given the job," he said. "There are many offers from newly established county councils. We view these favorably. There is much work [to be done] in the health sector and in other sectors."
When asked about security and battling terrorism, al-Maliki said Turkey was a friendly country, an ally, that had been helping Iraq on different levels on anti-terrorism issues.
The Iraqi prime minister said that cooperation between the two countries continues against the PKK, which they accept as a terrorist organization. Al-Maliki said the PKK had taken advantage of northern Iraq’s complicated geographical structure and steep mountains to remain on Iraqi soil.
"We have a trustworthy cooperation with Turkey in order to put an end to this terrorist organization and other terrorist organizations that want to harm ally neighboring countries," he added. "Regarding Turkey’s possible interference in northern Iraq, the issue is larger and more complicated than imagined. There is great need for cooperation. I know the mountains that the PKK takes shelter in; they are steep mountains. We will find ways to stop this organization’s activities and finish the organization through our collaboration with Turkey and our mutual understanding." According to al-Maliki, relations between Turkey and Iraq have developed and they are searching ways to improve them further. He added that he had called on all Turkish companies, through the Turkish government, to enter the Iraqi market.
Trust Turkish companies
"We trust the Turkish companies’ determination, the concern they show to finish the job on time and the care they show for the job itself," the Iraqi prime minister said. "We tried to make sure Turkey’s share in constructing the hospitals was greater. We decided to build 10 hospitals in the first stage and insisted that at least Turkish companies build five of these. This is not the end, but the start. We hope that under the improving relations between the two countries, Turkish companies take a greater role in the reconstruction of Iraq."
The five hospitals will be built by Universal Acarsan. The company’s Iraq representative, Fikret Bayraktar, said the project includes the building of five fully equipped training hospitals in five cities, each 65,000 square meters in size with a 400-bed capacity.
According to Bayraktar, when they applied for the project, the most support came from al-Maliki himself. "Prime Minister al-Maliki said that if the Turkish companies had the capacity, five of the hospitals should be built by them. We said we had the capacity and were given the job," he said. "There are many offers from newly established county councils. We view these favorably. There is much work [to be done] in the health sector and in other sectors."