Two Iranian Border Crossings Resume Trade With Iraqi Kurdistan

EghtesadOnline: Sheikh Saleh border crossing in the central district of Salas-e Babajani County, Kermanshah Province, is set to reopen on April 30, spokesperson of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, Rouhollah Latifi, has said.

News ID: ۷۴۹۹۳۹

30 April 2020

The crossing opens to the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

On Tuesday, Shooshemi, another crossing bordering the Kurdish region, resumed activities following two months of closure since the outbreak of coronavirus.

“As many as 200 trucks for exports to Iraq pass through Sheikh Saleh border on a daily basis,” Latifi was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.

With the opening of the two crossings, there are now six gates open for trade between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan.

The border checkpoints of Parvizkhan and Tamarchin, as well as Bashmaq, between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan have been open all along.

Iraq has closed its land borders with Iran amid the outbreak of the new coronavirus. That is to say the border crossings of Shalamcheh, Chazzabeh, Mehran and Khosravi remain closed for commercial exchanges.

Iraq is the main destination of Iranian exports among neighboring countries.

Secretary-General of Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce Hamid Hosseini said earlier this month that 700-800 trucks carrying Iranian goods cross the Iraqi Kurdistan border from Iran per day.

Around half of Iran’s total non-oil exports to Iraq is exported through Kermanshah Province.