Erdogan, the first Turkish premier to visit the Kurdish region, arrived late in the evening and went into talks with Kurdistan president Massud Barzani.

Shortly after landing at the airport in Arbil, Erdogan announced that Turkish Airlines would begin scheduled flights to the regional capital starting next month.

Erdogan, who arrived in Arbil on the second-day of a two-day visit to Iraq, told legislators in Baghdad on Monday that there are major hurdles to strengthening ties -- namely the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has rear-bases in Iraq and which Ankara has been fighting.

"The main obstacle to stronger ties is a terror organisation that has bases in the north... I wish that we fight this terrorist organisation together," Erdogan told Iraqi legislators.

Turkey has repeatedly accused Iraqi Kurds of turning a blind eye to activity within Iraq by the PKK but their leaders have been careful not to anger the larger neighbour.

The PKK, which is blacklisted as a terrorist group by much of the international community, took up arms against Ankara in 1984 for self-rule in Turkey's Kurdish-populated southeast, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.

Erdogan, whose country has expressed fears about the Shiite-Sunni unrest in Bahrain, held an hour-long meeting earlier Tuesday with the spiritual guide of Shiites, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Neither made a public statement after the discussions in the shrine city of Najaf, but the meeting was expected to have focussed on Bahrain.

"Najaf has completed all preparations to receive Erdogan during his historical visit," Khaled al-Jashaami, a member of Najaf's provincial council, told AFP before Erdogan's arrival.

He said that in his talks with Sistani, the spiritual guide of Iraq's Shiites, "we expect Iraqi issues to be discussed, as well as what is happening in neighbouring countries, especially in Bahrain."

Earlier this month Sistani called on the Sunni-led government in Bahrain to stop a violent crackdown on mostly Shiite protesters in the Gulf kingdom.

Sistani, who is about 80, rarely weighs in on political issues.

Turkey also expressed concern that the Bahrain turmoil could fuel repercussions beyond the kingdom's borders.

Iraq hopes that Erdogan's visit will boost economic ties between the two neighbours.

Iraq, still reeling from the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein and unleashed a wave of destruction, needs to rebuild or rehabilitate all industries.

Turkey has been a major investor in Iraq. It has invested in the gas sector, is a key conduit for Iraqi oil exports through its port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean, and provides much-needed electricity.

A senior Turkish official with a business delegation that accompanied Erdogan, said in Baghdad Monday that Turkey hoped bilateral trade would rise from $7.5 billion last year to $10 billion this year.

"Our goal is to reach a $25 billion target, and this is not impossible," he added.

str-aa-mar-afq/ps

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