At a news conference with an Iraqi delegation led by Planning Minister Salman Ali al-Jumaili, Turkey’s Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said Ankara does not support any authority implementing tax and standards at its customs, except the Iraqi government, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
The two countries are strengthening their economic ties as Iraq looks to recover from three years of war.
"Our first goal is to transform trade and economic relations between the two countries to deep partnerships," Anadolu quoted Zeybekci as saying.
He said that technical preparations for a new border gate with Iraq at Ovakoy in Turkey’s Sirnak province, about 8 kilometres from the Fish Khabur crossing, are proceeding quickly and it will soon be opened.
After clashes between Kurdish and Iraqi forces last October, Ankara and Baghdad agreed to open a new border crossing between their countries as an alternative to the existing gate with the Kurdistan Region.
The matter of the borders is one of the many issues currently being discussed by Erbil and Baghdad. When Iraq imposed punitive measures on the Kurdistan Region and took control of most of the disputed areas after Kurdistan’s independence vote last fall, Baghdad demanded the KRG hand over control of the borders.
Kurdish authorities have said they are open to discussions, but made it clear that any agreements would be guided by the Iraqi constitution.
Turkey does not have any direct border with Iraq. The frontier lies entirely within areas controlled by the Kurdistan Region.
Iraq’s Planning Minister Jumaili said they were waiting for the inauguration of the gate in Ovakoy, adding it would avoid double taxation and allow goods to more quickly enter Iraq.
Imports brought into Iraq through the Kurdistan Region typically are taxed twice – at the international border and again at the internal border between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.
Jumaili also urged Turkish companies to help rebuild Iraq’s infrastructure, damaged to the tune of $100 billion dollars by three years of war with ISIS.
