Kurdistan
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Trade Minister Kamal Muslim speaking to Rudaw's Ranj Sangawi on February 25, 2024. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The obstruction of trade at the checkpoints controlled by the Kurdistan Region’s two governing parties between Erbil and Sulaimani must be stopped to prevent businessmen from leaving the markets, the Kurdistan Region’s trade minister told Rudaw on Sunday.
“It creates a lack of confidence that people will no longer look for business within the Kurdistan Region and think of different markets,” Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Trade Minister Kamal Muslim told Rudaw’s Ranj Sangawi, adding that the obstruction of trade by security forces at checkpoints causes a “decline in trade movement.”
Muslim called on the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), dominant in Erbil, and the Sulaimani-based Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) to reach an understanding on this matter outside the Council of Ministers, saying the solution to the problem is beyond the government’s will.
“We will forward the problem to the Council of Ministers and explain the dangers to eliminate this phenomenon as soon as possible, but this requires a greater understanding outside the Council and the KDP and PUK must resolve it,” he stressed.
However, the minister lamented that the taxes and customs at checkpoints held by one party are sometimes not recognized by the other side and that the Council of Ministers is aware of the issue.
“Now, efforts are being made to resolve the issues and we have received approval to establish offices of the Ministry of Trade at all border crossings,” he said.
The KRG’s security forces are divided in two by its political parties - some are loyal to the KDP and some to the PUK- and there is hardly any cooperation when it comes to the Asayish, security forces responsible for checkpoints.
When asked by Rudaw about whether he was aware of checkpoint officials allegedly requesting bribes from businessmen to transport their goods across, Muslim claimed he was unaware of the matter but that his ministry had received complaints of difficulties in transferring goods between Erbil and Sulaimani.
“I have no information about the checkpoints that are said to export money and they do not even belong to our ministry, but we have received complaints that the goods produced in Sulaimani cannot be easily delivered to Erbil” and vice versa, he said.
The businessmen, however, have complained to the ministry that their goods are being prevented from entering the cities through the checkpoints.
Muslim stressed that the KRG must unify “as a single government” to ensure that internal disputes are resolved.
“We complain about Baghdad that they set up checkpoints on the borders between Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, so how can these checkpoints be set up within our own borders?” he asked.
“It creates a lack of confidence that people will no longer look for business within the Kurdistan Region and think of different markets,” Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Trade Minister Kamal Muslim told Rudaw’s Ranj Sangawi, adding that the obstruction of trade by security forces at checkpoints causes a “decline in trade movement.”
Muslim called on the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), dominant in Erbil, and the Sulaimani-based Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) to reach an understanding on this matter outside the Council of Ministers, saying the solution to the problem is beyond the government’s will.
“We will forward the problem to the Council of Ministers and explain the dangers to eliminate this phenomenon as soon as possible, but this requires a greater understanding outside the Council and the KDP and PUK must resolve it,” he stressed.
However, the minister lamented that the taxes and customs at checkpoints held by one party are sometimes not recognized by the other side and that the Council of Ministers is aware of the issue.
“Now, efforts are being made to resolve the issues and we have received approval to establish offices of the Ministry of Trade at all border crossings,” he said.
The KRG’s security forces are divided in two by its political parties - some are loyal to the KDP and some to the PUK- and there is hardly any cooperation when it comes to the Asayish, security forces responsible for checkpoints.
When asked by Rudaw about whether he was aware of checkpoint officials allegedly requesting bribes from businessmen to transport their goods across, Muslim claimed he was unaware of the matter but that his ministry had received complaints of difficulties in transferring goods between Erbil and Sulaimani.
“I have no information about the checkpoints that are said to export money and they do not even belong to our ministry, but we have received complaints that the goods produced in Sulaimani cannot be easily delivered to Erbil” and vice versa, he said.
The businessmen, however, have complained to the ministry that their goods are being prevented from entering the cities through the checkpoints.
Muslim stressed that the KRG must unify “as a single government” to ensure that internal disputes are resolved.
“We complain about Baghdad that they set up checkpoints on the borders between Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, so how can these checkpoints be set up within our own borders?” he asked.
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