ANKARA (AA) - Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari of Iraq arrived in Ankara late on Thursday on his first foreign trip since taking office last month upon invitation of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Al-Jaafari arrived on Erdogan's private plane which the Turkish prime minister sent to Baghdad. He has been accompanied by the ministers of trade, finance, oil, electricity and industry. The minister in charge of water resources is expected to arrive on Friday.
Prime Minister al-Jaafari will meet Prime Minister Erdogan on Friday morning. The two will hold a joint news conference following the meeting.
Al-Jaafari will partake in a lunch to be hosted in his honor by Prof. Dr. Ihsan Dogramaci. Turkish Foreign Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul is also expected to attend the lunch.
The bilateral relations between Turkey and Iraq will be discussed in detail during the scheduled meetings of al-Jaafari in Ankara.
During the talks, the Turkish side will highlight importance of Iraq's territorial integrity and political unity, and express its uneasiness about Kirkuk.
The Turkish side will ask Prime Minister al-Jaafari to take action against the terrorist organization PKK. Recently, Turkish officials have handed over a list of most-wanted PKK terrorists to Iraqi officials.
Attacks on Turkish truck drivers in Iraq, sale of electricity to Iraq, and opening of a second border crossing between the two countries will also be high on agenda of al-Jaafari's meetings.
The visit is the al-Jaafari's second to Turkey this year. He visited Turkey in January while he was vice president.
(UK)
2005-05-20