ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's Ambassador to Turkey Majid al-Lachmawi said on Wednesday that the resumption of Kurdish oil exports to Turkey's Ceyhan Port could contribute to lessening fuel shortages in the neighboring country.
Lachmawi also said trade volume has remained steady between both countries for the past three years, ranging between $16-$25 billion.
"The resumption of oil exports was a very important and turning point in economic relations between Iraq and Turkey," Lamchawi said. "This pipeline provides the Iraqi treasury with significant sums of money, while at the same time contributing to lessening fuel shortage in the Republic of Turkey."
The Kurdistan Region’s oil exports resumed earlier this month following a three-month agreement between Baghdad, Erbil and the IOCs. Exports were halted in March 2023 after a Paris-based arbitration court ruled that Ankara had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing Erbil to independently export oil beginning in 2014.
The resumption of Kurdish oil exports has been widely welcomed, with leaders hoping that it will be followed by a lasting agreement.
Last week, the Iraqi government sold the first shipment of oil from the Kurdistan Region in Turkey, just days after exports resumed, Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani told Rudaw.
“The oil that is exported through the [Turkey-Iraq] Pipeline is collected daily in the storage facilities at Ceyhan port and exported in stages,” Abdul Ghani noted.
Concerning economic and trade ties between Iraq and Turkey, the Iraqi ambassador to Ankara said trade volume has remained "stable" for three years in a row.
"With respect to trade ties between the two countries, it has been stable for three years at a specific level of between $16 and $25 billion annually," the ambassador said.
He detailed that Iraq eyes increasing trade volume between the two neighbors to "$30 billion in the coming years."
Iraq's main exports to its northern neighbor are "oil, dates, vegetables and fruit," said Mohammed Hanoun, spokesperson for Iraq’s Ministry of Trade, adding Iraq's imports from Turkey include construction materials, energy and food. Iraq also depends on Turkey for some food staples, such as tomato sauce and vegetables. About 60 to 70 percent of these imports are Turkish.
Iraq also imports gold from Turkey, said the trade ministry spokesperson.
Earlier this year, Turkey’s consul general to Erbil said that Iraq and Turkey did $18 billion dollars of trade in 2024.