DOHUK, Kurdistan Region - A second border gate has been reopened between Turkey and the Kurdistan Region for cross border trade and travellers, local authorities said Friday.
The Sarzer crossing was closed last year after clashes resumed between the Turkish army and Kurdish guerrillas in nearby regions.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yidirim announced on August 15 that his government planned to open a second border crossing to facilitate the trade between the two countries.
Habur, which is the only gate from Turkey to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq at present, saw a surge of cross border trade until mid-2015, largely due to the closure of Turkey's to Syria since the beginning of the war in that country, which were often used for trade into Iraq also.
However the armed conflict between the Turkish army and Kurdish guerrillas, resumed in July 2015, took its toll on Habur too.
According to data from Turkish ministry of trade, the volume of commerce between Turkey and Iraq in 2013 surpassed $12 billion but gradually dropped to $8.5 billion in 2015 as the war raged.
Turkey also facilitated visa applications for Iraqi citizens in late 2009 but imposed severe restrictions last year to contain the wave of mass migration to Europe through its borders.
In its heydays between 2006 and 2014, Habur border gate was the hub that connected the emerging market of Iraq and Kurdistan Region to the thriving economies of neighboring Turkey and generated jobs on both sides of the border.
The Sarzer crossing was closed last year after clashes resumed between the Turkish army and Kurdish guerrillas in nearby regions.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yidirim announced on August 15 that his government planned to open a second border crossing to facilitate the trade between the two countries.
Habur, which is the only gate from Turkey to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq at present, saw a surge of cross border trade until mid-2015, largely due to the closure of Turkey's to Syria since the beginning of the war in that country, which were often used for trade into Iraq also.
However the armed conflict between the Turkish army and Kurdish guerrillas, resumed in July 2015, took its toll on Habur too.
According to data from Turkish ministry of trade, the volume of commerce between Turkey and Iraq in 2013 surpassed $12 billion but gradually dropped to $8.5 billion in 2015 as the war raged.
Turkey also facilitated visa applications for Iraqi citizens in late 2009 but imposed severe restrictions last year to contain the wave of mass migration to Europe through its borders.
In its heydays between 2006 and 2014, Habur border gate was the hub that connected the emerging market of Iraq and Kurdistan Region to the thriving economies of neighboring Turkey and generated jobs on both sides of the border.
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