With Saudi support, Iraqi border crossings discuss with a Turkish delegation increasing transit to one million trucks annually.
With Saudi support, Iraqi border crossings discuss with a Turkish delegation increasing transit to one million trucks annually.
2026-08-11
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The Iraqi Border Ports Authority discussed on Tuesday with a high-level official Turkish delegation the possibility of increasing the transit rate for goods crossing between the two countries with the support of Saudi Arabia.
This came during a meeting between the head of the Border Ports Authority, Lieutenant General Omar Adnan Al-Waili, and the delegation headed by Barak Akan, Director General for European Union Affairs and Foreign Relations at the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, to discuss the executive procedures for activating the development road project and enhancing transit and trade exchange between the two countries.
According to a statement issued by the Authority, the meeting was held to implement the outcomes of the agreement that was recently signed during the visit of Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi to the Republic of Turkey, which aims to enhance regional connectivity and develop transport and trade between Iraq, Turkey and the countries of the region.
The statement explained that the two sides discussed mechanisms to facilitate the movement of goods and transit trucks through Iraqi border crossings, and the possibility of adopting the Rabia, Al-Walid and Al-Qaim crossings as main corridors within the transport network that connects Turkey and Europe with the Middle East and the Gulf countries through Iraqi territory.
During the meeting, Al-Waeli affirmed the readiness of the Border Ports Authority to provide the necessary facilities for the smooth flow of goods and merchandise, noting the work being done to allocate transit corridors within the border ports in accordance with international standards, which will contribute to strengthening Iraq’s position as a regional logistics center and a hub linking Turkey to Iraq and from there to the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf countries via land transport.
For its part, the Turkish delegation expressed its country’s readiness to increase the number of transit trucks crossing through Iraqi territory to one million trucks annually, while providing the necessary facilities to achieve this, noting the existence of Turkish-Saudi understandings supporting the strengthening of transit traffic through Iraqi territory, which contributes to stimulating trade and supporting the national economy.
The head of the authority affirmed that the file of activating the development route enjoys the attention and priority of the Prime Minister, through strengthening the network connection with Turkey and opening up prospects for cooperation through all land, sea and air ports, stressing that activating the development route and adopting the TIR system represent a fundamental pillar to facilitate international transport and enhance common economic interests between Iraq, Turkey and the countries of the region.
In a related context, the head of the Border Ports Authority conducted a field tour of the Rabia border crossing in Nineveh Governorate, to review the work situation and follow up on the procedures taken to expand the trade exchange areas, as well as discuss mechanisms to facilitate the entry of goods coming from Syria and Turkey and the smooth flow of their movement through the crossing.
Al-Waili also proposed holding a tripartite meeting that includes Iraq, Syria and Turkey, with the aim of reaching a unified mechanism to regulate the passage of goods and unify transit procedures and trade exchange facilities, in order to enhance regional trade and serve the common economic interests of the countries of the region.
shafaq.com
