BAGHDAD: Iraq will unify customs procedures in all of its border areas, including within semi-autonomous Kurdistan, the prime minister said, signaling a further thaw in ties between Baghdad and Erbil after a resumption of Kirkuk oil flows.
The decision will be implemented after the federal government in Baghdad reaches an agreement on the move with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi told a news conference.
He said the unified procedures would make it easier to transport imported goods and commodities.
Currently, the KRG independently imposes and collects custom tariffs on imported goods in border areas it controls, which Baghdad considers illegal.
Baghdad in turn imposes more tariffs of its own on commodities coming in from Kurdish-controlled border areas and the double customs have been seen as a burden by traders.
Abdel Mahdi said he would meet Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, who is set to visit Baghdad, on Thursday. Barzani resigned as the region’s president following a failed bid for independence but remains the leader of its largest party.
Barzani, still one of the most influential Kurdish politicians in Iraq, has not visited Baghdad since before the referendum, which took place in September 2017.
“I will meet Barzani tomorrow on relations between Erbil and Baghdad to discuss key issues that will strengthen relations between Erbil and Baghdad. We want to help the region and its citizens,” Abdul Mahdi said.
“I don’t think we’ll discuss oil … It’s a shame that the pumping of oil from Kirkuk stopped especially when these fields boost our federal revenues,” he added.
Iraq on Friday restarted exports of Kirkuk oil, halted a year ago due to a standoff with Erbil following the referendum.
