Political commentator Raid al-Azawi of the American University in Baghdad recalled that Turkey has invested more money in Iran's reconstruction since 2004 than any other country.
He said that trade turnover between Turkey and Iraq currently stands at 12 billion dollars, while trade turnover between Baghdad and all other Arab countries is only 2.5 billion dollars.
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"Remaining the largest foreign shareholder in Iraqi companies, Turkey owns shares in 400 Iraqi organizations in the oil and energy sector. So the five billion dollars, which Ankara has allocated to Baghdad, will bring Turkey at least 40 billion dollars in profit," Al-Azawi pointed out.
As for the political goals of Turkish support, he suggested that "Turkey wants to regain the glory of the Ottoman Empire through Iraq."
"In addition, Ankara will try to put pressure on Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United States," Al-Azawi added.
According to him, the current Iraqi government suits Ankara, which welcomed its neighbor's unequivocal rejection of Iraqi Kurdistan's 2017 independence referendum.
"Right now, Turkey is working to minimize Baghdad's relations with Egypt and Saudi Arabia," Al-Azawi concluded.
He was echoed by Professor Ahmed Oyasal of Istanbul University, who said that Turkey is concerned about the complicated situation in Iraq due to the war on terrorism and the US occupation.
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"That's why Ankara decided to give a helping hand to Iraq, especially given that Turkey itself isn't experiencing great difficulties and is now economically stable," according to Oyasal.
He also noted that the Arab countries' money flows into the United States and that they are not interested in maintaining stability in Iraq.
"Turkey develops production and trade and it is independent in its decisions. Ankara benefits from neighboring countries being stable and safe too," he said, ruling out the possibility of Turkey rendered financial assistance to Iraq on some secret terms.
Earlier this week, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu promised five billion dollars in loans and investment for reconstruction of Iraq which was hit by three-year war with the Daesh terrorist group.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.
