Turkish delegation to visit Iraq for Ovaköy border gate next week

The Ovaköy border gate project, which will directly ensure trade between Turkey and Iraq, has been given the green light. The border gate is an alternative to the Ibrahim Khalil (Habur) border crossing located between Turkey and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq.

A Turkish delegation will be assembled by Ankara and meet with the Iraqi side next week. It will compose of officials from the ministries of public works and highways, as well as security figures who will start intense contacts with Baghdad.

It is planned that the route of the trade road, which will pass through the Ovaköy-Tel Afar-Mosul-Baghdad line, will be fully determined in September. Following the evaluation of technical details, field works will begin.

Turkey is set to finance the superstructure and infrastructure for the Ovaköy border gate and trade route. One other critical matter of the Ovaköy gate is “security,” which Turkey is also determined to secure. Contacts will also be initiated with the tribes living in the region on the Syria-Iraq border and the wealth Ovaköy will bring to the area will be conveyed. Locals are enthusiastic about the project which will boost cross border trade. After the public is properly informed about the Ovaköy route, all security measures will be taken.

The new trade route will start from the bottom of the Syrian border in the west of Habur, pass near Tel Afar and through Mosul and pass by the Barzani district. The 120-kilometer stabilized road to be used for connection to the main road from Mosul will become an international trade route, thus Habur will lose its strategic significance.