Biladi Center for Strategic Studies and Research Visit to ORSAM

The four-person delegation from the think-tank, Biladi Center for Strategic Studies and Resarch, paid a visit to ORSAM on April 4, 2013. The delegation of Biladi Center consisted of: Director Yaser Abdulhussein, Specialist Kasım Hussein Al-Rubaie, Specialist Ahmed Nadji Al-Shammari, and Specialist Mustafa Ahmed Abdelreza. During the visit, details of the protocol signed between Biladi Center and ORSAM in Baghdad on February 24, 2013 were discussed; and the subjects, on which ORSAM and Biladi Center could cooperate, as well as the developments concerning the agenda were handled.  

During the talk, the guest delegation stated that Biladi Center had already been following ORSAM's studies closely even before the protocol was signed between the two Parties. It was noted that the research centers in Iraq were newly established as they started to be opened in the post-Saddam Hussein period. Hence, the delegation stated that the experiences of Turkey and ORSAM were very important for them and the goal of their visit was to see how the research centers in Turkey worked. Also, it was stated that the political crisis between Turkey and Iraq could not be solved by leaving it to politicians. It was underlined that non-political groups such as non-governmental organizations and and media organs should step in to solve the crisis. It was noted that Biladi Center attached particular importance to the relations with Turkey and that Biladi Center signed the first protocol with ORSAM for that reason. During the conference, it was stated that another conference on the relations between Turkey-Iraq were to be held in Babel, Iraq following June 2013; and that the Center wanted to coordinate the conference, which would be held in Turkey, in cooperation with ORSAM.                   

The cooperation between the Biladi Center and ORSAM was said to make a major contribution to the relations between Turkey and Iraq, and also it was assessed that this cooperation would be a major step to have access to true information and resource. Besides, it was said that a great number of studies on Turkey were carried out in Iraq and PhD and master's dissertations were written at universities, but that there were problems in having a direct access to true and sufficient number of resource on Turkey. Likewise, it was put forward that there were limited number of resources related to Iraq in Turkey. Stating the need to carry out projects that would bring the two peoples closer to each other, the Parties agreed that Biladi Center host a group of academicians from Turkey in Iraq, and that a project to be carried out in order to correct misunderstandings through workshops to be held in various provinces of Iraq. It was noted that all fields from culture to politics would be handled in those workshops.             

The Biladi Center stated that although they postponed some of their projects due to the local elections in Iraq, they received positive signals from Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's talk with Iraqi authorities during the Arab League conference and thus they decided to pay a visit to Turkey. 

It was said how Turkish-Iraqi relations became this bad from “high-level strategic cooperation” was not understood, and that each Party accuse one another. In the conference, it was said that the Syria issue had negative influence on the relations between Turkey and Iraq, and that non-related issues should be excluded from the bilateral relations. In case of waiting for the Syria issue to be solved, it was assessed that the relations between Turkey and Iraq could get worse. It was noted that there were certain groups aiming to disturb the relations between Turkey and Iraq, the foreign intervention manifested itself, and that they should not be allowed to do so.            

Analyses related to a research, conducted by Biladi Center in Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (IKRG), were shared as well. It was noted that there were severe problems between political parties within IKRG. Stating that those problem could cause splits within IKRG soon, the Parties indicated that absence of Jalal Talabani, leadership problem in the post-Talabani period, and Islamist movements' growing stronger along with Goran Movement could change the politics in IKRG. Also, it was asserted that especially PUK and Goran Movement were establishing increasingly closer relations with one another, and that they acted in unison against KDP, led by Masoud Barzani in power in IKRG.