ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq and Armenia signed three memorandums of understanding (MoU) during the fourth session of their joint government committee in Yerevan, officials said, as Baghdad seeks to strengthen economic ties by becoming the main exporter of dates to Armenia.
“We have great needs in agriculture, so we import from Georgia, Armenia, and several other countries,” Iraqi Agriculture Minister Abbas al-Maliki, who led the Iraqi delegation, told Rudaw. “We also have several things for export, including dates, which God willing will soon reach Armenia’s markets, as well as other products we have agreed with them on.”
The conference, attended by 50 traders from the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and Armenia, aimed to boost coordination and trade exchange.
Berevan Hassan Ali, a trader from the Kurdistan Region, said routing Armenia’s commercial activities through Iran could help expand business. “They are approximately 1,400 kilometers away from us, so we can do more trade,” he said.
Another trader, Sardar Khoshnaw, noted he has worked with Armenia for a decade without major issues.
“We hope trade between Kurdistan and Armenia will expand further,” he said.
Agricultural engineer Dler Rauf said Kurdish merchants were capable partners. “The Kurdistan Region is no less than those countries. We can cooperate very well with Armenia,” he noted.
But some participants from Baghdad criticized the event as poorly organized.
“This congress was not at the level of our demands,” said Rashid Saadi, spokesperson for the Baghdad Chamber of Commerce. “We have been at the hotel for three days, and no one has come to ask us anything. Even commercial companies haven’t followed up with us.”
According to Armenia’s Ambassador to Iraq Ruben Soghoyan, bilateral trade reached $250 million last year, with 90 percent involving the Kurdistan Region. Armenia’s main exports include livestock, cigarettes, and alcoholic beverages.
Merchants said the route from Armenia through Iran into the Kurdistan Region and Iraq is efficient, but called for stronger coordination and government facilitation to push trade volumes beyond last year’s level.
