Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

The transport ministers of Iraq, Türkiye, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to establish a coordination committee to jointly manage the Development Road Project and have reached an agreement on a memorandum declaration, an official said.

The ministers met in Baghdad on Oct. 31.

Turkish research vessel Oruç Reis has arrived off the coast of Somalia to conduct seismic surveys for oil and natural gas, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced on Oct. 25.

"Oruç Reis has reached its mission location after its journey across continents," Bayraktar shared on X.

Over 2,000 Turkish citizens and some foreign nationals started boarding a Turkish military ship late Wednesday that brought in aid and will take them out of a country being hit by Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah.

Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has stated that sending off the Oruç Reis Seismic Research Vessel to Somalia marks the beginning of a new era in Türkiye's natural gas and oil exploration at sea.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Oct. 5 attended a ceremony to see off the Oruç Reis vessel as it embarked on its latest energy research mission bound for the waters off Somalia.

The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), a prominent international entity focused on unifying the Turkic world, celebrates its 15th anniversary on Thursday.

With a message published on X, the Turkish Foreign Ministry celebrated the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the OTS and the Turkic States Cooperation Day.

Ankara and Baghdad have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at facilitating the voluntary return of Iraqi citizens from Türkiye, according to the Turkish Interior Ministry.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Istanbul reached almost 10.5 million in the first seven months this year, marking a 7 percent increase from the same period last year.

The figure stood at 9.7 million in the first seven months of last year, while this year it increased by 690,678 million and reached 10.4, data from the provincial directorate of culture and tourism said.

Türkiye and Iraq are demonstrating a strong and unified commitment to combating terrorism, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Öncü Keçeli stated on Thursday. 

Greece, in cooperation with Saudi Arabia, is leading the effort to evacuate and tow the Greek-owned oil tanker Sounion, which was attacked last week in the Red Sea by the Houthis, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

The plan involves transferring the oil inside the tanker (approximately 150,000 tons) to another vessel, while Sounion will be towed to a safe port, likely in Djibouti.

The transport ministers of Türkiye, Iraq, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will gather in Istanbul on Aug. 29 to discuss the Development Road project aimed at connecting Iraq's Grand Faw Port to Türkiye's southern border.

The initiative is seen as a potential alternative trade route to the Suez Canal.