Turkey top importer for Iraqi Kurds

SULAIMANIYAH - Agadolu Agency

Turkey has become the top country that the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) imports from, the head of an Iraqi Kurdish business union has announced, revealing the commercial ties between the two countries remain strong.

Mustafa Abdurrahman, the chairman of the KRG Union of Exporters and Importer, has said Turkey led the Kurdish autonomous government in northern Iraq in 2013.

Speaking at a press meeting held in Sulaymaniyah on Jan. 25, Abdurrahman said the main reason for the popularity of Turkish goods was their quality.

The number of Turkish companies operating in the KRG, which was around 485 in 2009 and is around 1,500 today, has been boosted by close energy ties between the KRG and Turkey as well. 

Iran, which has recently ascended as a prominent service and goods provider in the Kurdish Iraqi market as Iranian goods have become cheaper for Kurdish Iraqi buyers after devaluation has followed Turkey as the second import market, Abdurrahman stated.

Meanwhile, China, the world’s top goods importer, ranked third following Turkey and Iran.

The ties between Iraqi Kurds and Turkey have risen to a higher level after an extensive energy trade agreement signed in November.