Iraq is taking steps to strengthen its role as a regional trade and transportation hub by expanding land-transport links with Arab countries and improving the movement of goods across borders.

Hussein Ahmed, director of media and public relations at Iraq’s Ministry of Transport, told Kurdistan24 that procedures to activate a memorandum of understanding on land transportation with several Arab countries have been completed. The agreement is currently being reviewed by the Council of Ministers before being referred to parliament for approval.

Nearly 10 countries are expected to join the first phase of the agreement, including Gulf states, Egypt, Libya and Jordan. Syria is also expected to participate.

The agreement is expected to be formally signed next month. It will establish a framework allowing freight trucks to move more easily across participating countries while protecting the rights of transport companies and traders.

According to Ahmed, the agreement will provide comprehensive security guarantees for transported goods. Iraq’s Ministry of Transport says cargo will receive a 100-percent security guarantee, a measure aimed at increasing confidence among traders and investors.

The agreement focuses mainly on freight transportation and is not expected to affect Iraq’s existing transportation agreements with other countries.

For decades, Iraq faced major obstacles to participating in regional land-transport agreements. International sanctions before 2003 and subsequent security challenges limited cross-border commercial transportation and prevented Iraq from fully exploiting its strategic location between the Gulf, the Levant, Türkiye and Asia.

A major step came in 2022, when Iraq joined the international TIR system, which facilitates the secure movement of goods across international borders. Since then, Iraq has reportedly supported around 5,000 cross-border transport operations.

The country’s potential as a regional transit route was highlighted this week when an Iraqi truck successfully transported goods from Saudi Arabia’s Arar border crossing into Central Asia.

The new agreement could help Iraq reduce transportation costs, expand export opportunities for domestically produced goods and attract private-sector investment.