Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signed an agreement with Iraq, Qatar and the UAE to build a $17 billion economic corridor between Asia and Europe. The proposed corridor will be made up of railways and highways, and will connect southern Iraq to Europe via Turkiye. The agreement was signed by Erdogan during his first visit to Iraq since 2011. At the G20 last year, India and Arab Gulf states had announced a similar corridor passing through Israel. With the war in Gaza delaying the India-Europe corridor, Erdogan is pushing for the Iraqi corridor as an alternative to the Suez Canal which has been the traditional trade route between Asia and Europe. Palki Sharma tells you what this project means for Iraq, Turkiye and the region.
