HALABJA, Kurdistan Region – Iran announced the opening of the Shoshme border crossing with celebrations and festivities, but officials on the other side of the border in the Kurdistan Region said they were in the dark about the opening.
"The Shoshme border crossing is open officially, and starting tomorrow people can come and go," said Nematollah Manuchehri, a member of the Kermanshah provincial council for the towns of Paveh, Ravansar and Javanrud.
Hundreds in the Iranian border areas responded to the news with celebrations, hoping that the new crossing could provide employment and better economic opportunities.
But the excitement did not echo on Kurdistan’s side of the frontier, where local officials said they had not heard officially from Iran about the opening.
"To open the border crossing the Kurdistan Region has been waiting for a response from the Iranian side, but they (Iranians) have not notified us officially," said Nukhsha Nasih, the female mayor of the small town of Biara in Halabja, which was newly designated as a province.
There was also some skepticism on the Iranian side by residents who complained that the announcement of the border opening had been premature.
“They have not taken concrete measures, and have not even stationed police for passport checks,” said a resident, who preferred to remain anonymous.
Unlike the Iranian side, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has already set up passport control services on the Kurdish side of the border in preparation for the official opening. "We have passport control on our side, but we will need more employees so that we can keep the border running 24 hours," said Nasih.
The KRG, in particular the officials from Halabja, have been in contact with Tehran and Baghdad over the past few years to make the border opening official.
The Shoshme border crossing has been unofficially operating between the Kurdistan Region and Iran for limited trade since 1991. The official opening is expected to provide a lifeline to Halabja, providing jobs, trade and other economic opportunities.
Once the Shoshme border is officially running, the Kurdistan Region will have three official crossings with its eastern neighbor.
Trade between Iran and the Kurdistan Region is pegged at $4 billion, but earlier this month KRG and Iranian officials vowed to double that amount over the next few years.
