Iraq has partially reopened another border crossing into Iran.
The Mandali border crossing (known as Soomar on the Iranian side of the border) was reopened on Saturday in a ceremony attended by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.
The border, which was shut down in early March after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, has now resumed activity for limited trade.
The terminal, in the eastern Diyala Province of Iraq, will be operational on two days a week for trade exchange, the Iraqi Border Crossing Authority said in a statement.
Established in 2014, Mandali is the closest route from Iran to northern Baghdad, Samarra and the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
Speaking at the Mandali crossing on the border with Iran and standing alongside Border Crossing Commission head, Omar al-Waeli, Kadhemi said Iraq's frontier had become "a hotbed for corrupt people".
"This is the beginning of our promise to combat corruption. The first phase is to protect border crossings with new security forces," he said.
"The second is to fight 'ghosts' trying to blackmail Iraqis and the third is to automate the crossing with new technology."
In response to a question by AFP, Kadhemi said, "We encourage businessmen [importing goods] to pay the custom duties, not bribes. This will serve as a message to all corrupt people."
Iraq imports virtually all of its consumer goods from either its eastern neighbor Iran or its northern neighbor Turkey.
But government officials, foreign diplomats and businessmen have long complained that the import process at both borders is complicated and rife with corruption.
They accuse customs offices of getting kickbacks from traders in exchange for charging no or low import duties.
In June, Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Allawi said the government would seek to boost non-oil revenues, including through import duties, to make up for the collapse in state income from falling oil prices.
"The ports should give us revenues of seven trillion Iraqi dinar a year. We only get one trillion right now," he told reporters at the time.
"To close that gap, we'll need a string of reforms to the customs administration," he said.
Iraq is ranked one of the top 20 most corrupt countries in the world, according to Transparency International, with some $450 billion in public funds vanishing into the pockets of shady politicians and businessmen since 2003.
Every premier has pledged new measures to fight corruption but few have been able to make a dent in the deep-rooted practices across the public and private sector.
Other Crossings for Trade
Iraq partially reopened its southern Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran on July 7 after more than three months due to the spread of the new coronavirus, border officials said.
The crossing, for now, is open only for food import, allowing 500 trucks from Iran to enter per week on Wednesdays and Sundays, one official said.
As for Iran's other border crossings with Iraq, Rouhollah Latifi, spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, recently said prior to the reopening of Shalamcheh that “two of the crossings with the central government of Iraq, namely Mehran in Ilam and Khorramshahr in Khuzestan provinces, are currently open for commerce, and the rest are closed. All border crossings with the Iraqi Kurdistan Region are open.”
As many as 250 trucks from Iran head for Iraq through the northern frontiers (to Iraqi Kurdistan) on a daily basis carrying food and construction materials. Southern borders with the neighbor have yet to reopen completely, Yahya Al-e Es’haq, chairman of Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce, said recently.
Health safety protocols have been designed and implemented for the southern borders, he added.
Noting that the two borders of Chazzabeh and Shalamcheh would reopen soon, the official said Mehran border terminal had reopened on June 9.
Transshipment of Iranian goods through this major border is allowed on Mondays and Wednesdays, Otaghiranonline.ir reported.
Iraq is the main destination of Iranian exports to the region.
About 8.1 million tons of goods worth $3.8 billion were exported from Iran to Iraq through the Iraqi Kurdistan Region in the last fiscal year that ended on March 19, 2020, according to the IRICA spokesman.
“Exports accounted for 42% of Iran’s total exports to Iraq in value and over 31% in volume during the period under review,” Latifi was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
Parvizkhan border crossing had a share of 3 million tons worth $1.4 billion, followed by Bashmaq with $1.12 billion and Tamarchin border crossing with $754 million.
Iran exported more than 25.68 million tons of goods worth $8.99 billion to Iraq last year.
