Middle East
Trucks transporting goods from Turkey to Iraq through Syria on May 18, 2026. Photo: SANA
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - In a notable development, the first Iraq-Turkey transit convoy arrived in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province via Syria on Monday, a move that some analysts say could potentially weaken the Kurdistan Region’s trade with Turkey as it marks a notable shift in trade routes between Ankara and Baghdad.
The first convoy of Turkish cargo trucks arrived at the Rabia border crossing in Nineveh province on Monday after passing through Syria’s Gire Spi (Tal Abyad) crossing with Turkey.
Omar al-Waili, head of Iraq’s Border Crossings Authority, said in a statement that the “Rabia crossing witnessed the launch of goods transportation in transit form,” adding that the move “comes in implementation of Iraq’s foreign policy to strengthen relations with neighboring countries and diversify the economy.”
He further noted that the route would eventually become an important part of the Development Road Project, turning Iraq into a global logistics hub.
Spanning 1,200 kilometers, the $17 billion Project will extend from Faw Port in Iraq’s southern Basra province on the Gulf to the country’s northern border with Turkey. The project includes railways and highways designed to transport goods and passengers, with the aim of positioning Iraq as a regional trade hub. It is expected to generate annual revenues of $4 billion.
Iraqi officials say the project will strengthen Iraq’s geopolitical standing, boost the national economy, and create thousands of jobs by linking the country to European markets via Turkey.
Sirwa Mohammed, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s economy and trade committee, told Rudaw on Monday that “Omar al-Waili informed me that Turkey itself requested the reopening of the Rabia crossing so that the largest share of trade movement would pass through this route.”
The Kurdish lawmaker added that she believes the move is aimed at “weakening and paralyzing the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing” with Turkey, which is located in the Kurdistan Region’s northern Duhok province.
She further warned that the development would negatively affect the Kurdistan Region’s economy, stating, “The Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG] must urgently enter talks with Baghdad to protect the remaining trade activity and agree on customs procedures” under the Automatic System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) agreement between Erbil and Baghdad.
The ASYCUDA electronic automation system was developed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the early 1980s and is now used at all 22 of Iraq’s federal border crossings, including key southern ports. The system is designed to standardize and modernize customs procedures.
The KRG has formally petitioned the Iraqi federal government to convene an urgent session of the Ministerial Council for the Economy to finalize the ASYCUDA agreement, a senior commerce official in Erbil told Rudaw on Tuesday.
For its part, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) cited Mazen Alloush, director of public relations at Syria’s General Authority for Borders and Customs, as stating on Monday that the development strengthens Syria’s position as a key regional transit and trade hub linking neighboring countries.
“The Authority continues to facilitate transit and customs clearance procedures while enhancing operational and logistical readiness at border crossings to ensure the smooth movement of trucks and goods,” Alloush said.
The Syrian side of the Rabia border crossing, known as al-Yarubiyah, reopened earlier this year after being closed in late 2024 following the ouster of longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad by a coalition of armed groups led by Syria’s current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Samer Qasim Daoud, director general of Iraq’s General Customs Authority, told Rudaw on Thursday that the Rabia-Yarubiyah crossing would become “an alternative option” for import and export trade with Turkey.
He further noted that Iraq’s reliance on Syrian territory to access Turkey is linked to how the Kurdistan Region’s crossings operate.
“If the Kurdistan Region’s border crossings become electronic and are connected to the ASYCUDA system, then we will no longer need to conduct trade exchange with Turkey through Syria,” Dawood said.
The Rabia crossing is located 120 kilometers from Mosul. Fawaz Mishaan, mayor of Rabia, in January noted that while “the distance between the Nusaybin crossing on the Turkey-Syria border and Nineveh through Rabia is only 180 kilometers, the route currently in use through Ibrahim Khalil is nearly 300 kilometers.”
Iraq has in recent years sought to expand its role as a transit corridor linking the Gulf, Turkey, Syria, and Europe as part of broader efforts to diversify the economy and modernize border and customs infrastructure.
The country’s General Customs Authority announced last week that it had received the first international road transport shipment traveling from Syria to Kuwait through Iraqi territory, describing the move as a strategic step to boost the country’s role as a regional trade and logistics hub.
The shipment entered Iraq through the al-Waleed border crossing with Syria and exited via the Safwan border crossing with Kuwait.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment