ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq plans to move beyond being “hostage” to a single export corridor for transporting its oil resources by diversifying routes, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said Tuesday at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin, on the second day of his European tour to sign key energy, investment, and military agreements.
“Iraq cannot remain hostage to a single corridor as is the situation now [with the Strait of Hormuz],” Zaidi said in response to a question by Rudaw's Alla Shally, emphasizing that Baghdad needs a “sovereign position” to prevent a recurrence of the economic downturns caused by war-related maritime restrictions in the waterway.
The Iraqi premier further pointed to his government's recent efforts to export oil via Turkey and Syria, supplies he said “would be sold to Western countries, Europe, and the United States.”
Interestingly, Zaidi pointed to the possibility of selling oil to Germany through a pipeline that could be constructed within the framework of the Development Road Project - one that would be “safer for the German government and people, and that would not be blocked under any circumstances.”
Of note, the Development Road is a $17 billion infrastructure initiative aimed at transforming Iraq into a major transit corridor. The route will extend approximately 1,200 kilometers from the Grand al-Faw Port in Iraq’s southern Basra province to the Fishkhabur border crossing with Turkey.
Zaidi’s Tuesday remarks come as Baghdad has in recent months grappled to find alternative routes to export oil in light of ongoing disruptions to shipping via the Strait of Hormuz - a major energy chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies pass. The Strait emerged as a flashpoint since the outbreak of the six week war in late February when the US and Israel launched a joint aerial campaign, striking thousands of targets across Iran.
For Iraq, disruptions to the key waterway have dealt a severe blow to the country's oil sector and broader economy, with crude production falling from around 4.14 million bpd before the crisis to as low as 1.49 million bpd at its height, dragging exports down with it.
Beyond the oil file, the Iraqi premier also addressed the German troops present in Iraq under the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (ISIS), who are expected to withdraw along with other foreign forces from the country in line with the September 30 deadline set by Baghdad.
“Our security forces are capable of holding territory effectively, and we have diverse capabilities across all branches,” he told Rudaw, adding that Baghdad has conveyed this “reality” to the US, as well as to Chancellor Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron during the first leg of his European tour, which kicked off in Paris on Monday.
“What we are working on now is protecting Iraqi airspace from the passage of any aircraft,” Zaidi said, noting that Coalition members “will not be far” should Iraq need their assistance in that regard.
For his part, Merz confirmed that the withdrawal of German troops from Iraq is based on Baghdad's request, while noting that Berlin remains “prepared” to resume military cooperation “if that is desired.”
Later in the day, Haider al-Aboudi, Iraqi government spokesperson who accompanied Zaidi to Berlin, also told Rudaw that Berlin had indeed proposed to extend the stay of its troops in Iraq, however, Zaidi “declined to accommodate the proposal, in adherence to the principle of Iraqi state sovereignty and the deadline the Iraqi state has set.”
“Iraq and the Iraqi government are keen on transitioning their relationship with the friendly countries that were part of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS away from security cooperation and toward long-term economic and investment partnership,” he further explained.
The Iraqi premier’s visit to Germany comes a day after he held talks with France’s Macron in Paris, where the two presided over the signing of several bilateral agreements covering aviation, defense, and energy.
