Erbil prepared to open new border crossing with Iran: Governor

Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Erbil province is prepared to open a new border crossing with Iran, governor Omed Khoshnaw said on Sunday following a meeting with an Iranian delegation in the Kurdistan Region’s capital. 

“We are well prepared within our cooperation framework with Urmia [West Azerbaijan] governor to open the border crossing in the near future,” Khoshnaw said in a joint press conference with Motamedian following a meeting with an Iranian delegation headed by Majid Mirahmadi, Iranian deputy interior minister for security affairs in Erbil. 

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed, Iran’s consul general in Erbil Nasrollah Rashnoudi, and the Governor of West Azerbaijan province Mohammed Sadegh Motamadian also took part in the meeting. 

There have been talks of opening a new crossing between Erbil province’s Sidakan and Kelashin in western Iran (Rojhelat). 

Khoshnaw said that both sides are adhering to previous agreements, adding that in the past year, the Haji Omaran border crossing has been one of the busiest and most active border points.

Motamedian  stated that the amount of trade at he Haji Omaran crossing has reached one billion dollars.

Last year, Motamedian visited Khoshnaw in Erbil to discuss the implementation of a 14-point memorandum of understanding signed in December 2021 in which both sides agreed to “facilitate trade movement” and develop industrial zones between Erbil and West Azerbaijan.

Iran and the Kurdistan Region enjoy good economic relations, sharing several border crossings.  A large number of Iranian companies work in the Region’s various sectors.

Iran is also a major trading partner for Iraq. Since the overthrow of the regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have become two important destinations for Iranian goods

In 2021, Iran said they had exported $11 billion worth of food and agricultural products to Iraq in five years. In 2019, Iraq accounted for around $9 billion of Iran’s $12.5 billion in exports.