Kurdistan
An airport employee wearing a mask gathers trolleys at the Aswan International Airport in the Egyptian city on February 2, 2020. Photo: Khaled Desouki / AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Outbreak of the coronavirus has brought Kurdish-Chinese trade business ties close to standstill as Iraqi and Kurdish authorities have taken further steps to bar arrivals from China.
Iraq's interior ministry announced on Sunday that it would not allow foreigners travelling from China to enter the country over fears of an outbreak of the virus.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has decided not to issue visas to Chinese citizens for 30 days, and has called on people to postpone visits to China. Three Chinese nationals were on Saturday denied entry via Erbil International Airport to “prevent the outbreak” of the illness.
Ziryan Rasheed is an Erbil-based electronics salesman. Rasheed would normally travel to China several times a year to import equipment, but he has stopped visiting the country since the virus’ outbreak.
"Due to the virus, I have cancelled my trip [to China] this year because I didn't know how things would turn out. Now there is a KRG decision telling us not to travel. We are frankly upset with this decision," Rasheed told Rudaw.
Novel coronavirus was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan on December 31, 2019. There is currently no vaccine or cure for the virus, which causes acute respiratory issues.
Wuhan, population 11 million, has been shut down in response to the outbreak. Chinese officials on Sunday shut down the eastern city of Wenzhou to contain the virus, which has infected nearly 14,500 people across the country. Over 300 people have died as a result of infection.
Coronavirus has now reached 24 countries, AFP has reported.
Iraq and Kurdistan Region-based businessmen, however, are optimistic that the spread of coronavirus will be halted, and that commerce will soon be back on track.
"We are waiting for ten more days for the market to gain activity again. I am sure that a powerful government like the Chinese government, which is an empire with regards to goods and other material in the world, can bring the virus under control," Sabor Haydar Bazzaz, head of Bait al-Bazzaz company for general trade and transportation told Rudaw.
Kurdistan Region's Union of Importers and Exporters has told businessmen not to travel to or import from China.
"[We have told them] for now not to work with China. They can work with other countries. This will not affect the Kurdistan Region's market. There are goods that are better and more suitable than Chinese ones for the Kurdistan Region," Mustafah Sheikh Abdulrahman, head of the Union, told Rudaw.
According to Abdulrahman, 40-50 Kurdish businessmen made business trips to China on a daily basis before the outbreak – but this number has dropped to zero, he said. He estimates China to be the third biggest trade partner of the Region after Turkey and Iran, with trade volume between the two standing at $5 billion.
A senior Chinese diplomat in Erbil has described the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) decision to bar entry to Chinese nationals as a “disappointment”.
"Actually, for the Coronavirus, there will sure be some negative effects for both sides. We especially feel a little bit [of] disappointment when we heard the decision from KRG Ministry of Interior about the restrictions for Chinese citizens to travel to the Kurdish Region and businessmen to travel to China,” Wang Xuhong, Vice-Consul General in the Chinese Consulate General in Erbil told Rudaw.
“We also have many a big number of Chinese businessmen and workers to travel to the Region," the Vice-Consul General said, specifying that there are more than 20 companies and 2,237 workers from China in the Kurdistan Region.
Iraqi authorities said Friday they had not detected any coronavirus cases in Iraq or among Iraqi expatriates abroad.
By Mahdi Faraj and Mohammed Rwanduzy
Iraq's interior ministry announced on Sunday that it would not allow foreigners travelling from China to enter the country over fears of an outbreak of the virus.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has decided not to issue visas to Chinese citizens for 30 days, and has called on people to postpone visits to China. Three Chinese nationals were on Saturday denied entry via Erbil International Airport to “prevent the outbreak” of the illness.
Ziryan Rasheed is an Erbil-based electronics salesman. Rasheed would normally travel to China several times a year to import equipment, but he has stopped visiting the country since the virus’ outbreak.
"Due to the virus, I have cancelled my trip [to China] this year because I didn't know how things would turn out. Now there is a KRG decision telling us not to travel. We are frankly upset with this decision," Rasheed told Rudaw.
Novel coronavirus was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan on December 31, 2019. There is currently no vaccine or cure for the virus, which causes acute respiratory issues.
Wuhan, population 11 million, has been shut down in response to the outbreak. Chinese officials on Sunday shut down the eastern city of Wenzhou to contain the virus, which has infected nearly 14,500 people across the country. Over 300 people have died as a result of infection.
Coronavirus has now reached 24 countries, AFP has reported.
Iraq and Kurdistan Region-based businessmen, however, are optimistic that the spread of coronavirus will be halted, and that commerce will soon be back on track.
"We are waiting for ten more days for the market to gain activity again. I am sure that a powerful government like the Chinese government, which is an empire with regards to goods and other material in the world, can bring the virus under control," Sabor Haydar Bazzaz, head of Bait al-Bazzaz company for general trade and transportation told Rudaw.
Kurdistan Region's Union of Importers and Exporters has told businessmen not to travel to or import from China.
"[We have told them] for now not to work with China. They can work with other countries. This will not affect the Kurdistan Region's market. There are goods that are better and more suitable than Chinese ones for the Kurdistan Region," Mustafah Sheikh Abdulrahman, head of the Union, told Rudaw.
According to Abdulrahman, 40-50 Kurdish businessmen made business trips to China on a daily basis before the outbreak – but this number has dropped to zero, he said. He estimates China to be the third biggest trade partner of the Region after Turkey and Iran, with trade volume between the two standing at $5 billion.
A senior Chinese diplomat in Erbil has described the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) decision to bar entry to Chinese nationals as a “disappointment”.
"Actually, for the Coronavirus, there will sure be some negative effects for both sides. We especially feel a little bit [of] disappointment when we heard the decision from KRG Ministry of Interior about the restrictions for Chinese citizens to travel to the Kurdish Region and businessmen to travel to China,” Wang Xuhong, Vice-Consul General in the Chinese Consulate General in Erbil told Rudaw.
“We also have many a big number of Chinese businessmen and workers to travel to the Region," the Vice-Consul General said, specifying that there are more than 20 companies and 2,237 workers from China in the Kurdistan Region.
Iraqi authorities said Friday they had not detected any coronavirus cases in Iraq or among Iraqi expatriates abroad.
By Mahdi Faraj and Mohammed Rwanduzy
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