Turkey and Iraq have mutually abolished visa requirements as long-frozen relations between the two countries showed initial signs of improving following the departure of Iraq's divisive prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, Today's Zaman reported.
Turkish media announced the visa deal right before the joint news conference of visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
Long-anticipated visa deal, which was put on the backburner due to a friction between the two nations following the departure of American troops in 2012, is expected to particularly facilitate blossoming trade with Iraq. Both countries enjoy more than $12 billion trade volume, largely thanks to growing Turkish investment in northern Iraq.