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IBRAHIM KHALIL, Kurdistan Region — Despite Turkey’s increased border security at its only border crossing with Iraq or the Kurdistan Region, 50,000 Eid al-Adha holidaymakers from Iraq are taking advantage of the weak Turkish lira as the Iraqi dinar has remained relatively stable with the US dollar.
Four Turkish diplomats told Middle East Eye that cooperation between military cooperation continues between Turkey and the United States which is heavily invested in the “new Iraq.”
“The Pentagon is the one that usually cares about Turkey's concerns, and we will keep our cooperation with them on the ground," one of the diplomats told MEE.
Baghdad has on numerous occasions said it would like to open another border crossing with Turkey, as the current one at Ibrahim Khalil cannot handle the amount of personal and commercial traffic. Both countries have voiced support for a modern highway that would connect Mosul in Iraq to Diyarbakir in Turkey.
Rudaw visited Ibrahim Khalil at the start of the Eid al-Adha holiday.
“I came here yesterday, thinking that I would cross, but it was crowded and I would not cross by evening despite coming here early in the morning. So I did not go. Today, I came again at the same time but it is 12 p.m., but we are half of the way there,” said tourist Rasheed Mohammed.
Eid was in its first day on Tuesday.
“People have been in queues since 2 a.m., then crossed. It takes people 12-14 hours to cross. It was crowded. This happens only before Eid,” said driver Aydin Ince.
“Our currency is somehow down, so people come here. Cars bearing the Iraqi or Kurdistan Region’s plate numbers would not come before, but now they come in abundance. Their number is more than ours,” added Ince.
So people from the Kurdistan Region are going to Kurdish cities in Turkey to buy goods for lower prices.
“Had we bought these things at home, they would cost us more than $200 but we have only paid about $100-150,” said Wahid Mohammed.
This has boosted business for Kurdish vendors in Turkey.
“Of course, traffic has increased due to Eid. Dollars are cheap [in the Kurdistan Region] but it is expensive here … one can buy 6 kilos of Baklava with the same money they use to buy 4 kilos,” explained Baklava vendor Farhad Zaid.
According to figures obtained from Ibrahim Khalil crossing border officials, nearly 50,000 people from the Kurdistan Region have visited Turkey on daily basis since August 15.
More than 60 percent of Kurdistan Region’s citizens who come here buy their needs in Cizre and Silopi, per figures issued by the relevant authorities in Turkey.
Four Turkish diplomats told Middle East Eye that cooperation between military cooperation continues between Turkey and the United States which is heavily invested in the “new Iraq.”
“The Pentagon is the one that usually cares about Turkey's concerns, and we will keep our cooperation with them on the ground," one of the diplomats told MEE.
Baghdad has on numerous occasions said it would like to open another border crossing with Turkey, as the current one at Ibrahim Khalil cannot handle the amount of personal and commercial traffic. Both countries have voiced support for a modern highway that would connect Mosul in Iraq to Diyarbakir in Turkey.
The mechanism to administer and construct a new crossing is complicated by improving but still fragile Erbil-Baghdad relations.
Rudaw visited Ibrahim Khalil at the start of the Eid al-Adha holiday.
“I came here yesterday, thinking that I would cross, but it was crowded and I would not cross by evening despite coming here early in the morning. So I did not go. Today, I came again at the same time but it is 12 p.m., but we are half of the way there,” said tourist Rasheed Mohammed.
Turkey has intensified security procedures at the border crossing with the KRG. Vehicles have to go through ten checkpoints to arrive on the other side.
Eid was in its first day on Tuesday.
“People have been in queues since 2 a.m., then crossed. It takes people 12-14 hours to cross. It was crowded. This happens only before Eid,” said driver Aydin Ince.
US sanctions, tariffs and internal Turkish problems have hurt the lira’s value, but despite Iraq and the Kurdistan Region's ties to Iran, the Iraqi lira so far has stayed level with the US dollar.
“Our currency is somehow down, so people come here. Cars bearing the Iraqi or Kurdistan Region’s plate numbers would not come before, but now they come in abundance. Their number is more than ours,” added Ince.
So people from the Kurdistan Region are going to Kurdish cities in Turkey to buy goods for lower prices.
“Had we bought these things at home, they would cost us more than $200 but we have only paid about $100-150,” said Wahid Mohammed.
This has boosted business for Kurdish vendors in Turkey.
“Of course, traffic has increased due to Eid. Dollars are cheap [in the Kurdistan Region] but it is expensive here … one can buy 6 kilos of Baklava with the same money they use to buy 4 kilos,” explained Baklava vendor Farhad Zaid.
According to figures obtained from Ibrahim Khalil crossing border officials, nearly 50,000 people from the Kurdistan Region have visited Turkey on daily basis since August 15.
More than 60 percent of Kurdistan Region’s citizens who come here buy their needs in Cizre and Silopi, per figures issued by the relevant authorities in Turkey.
Turkey is Iraq and the Kurdistan Region's top trading partner. Iran is second for the Kurdistan Region and third for Iraq, with China coming in second for the latter, according to the Trade Promotion Organization.
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