ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Local authorities in the Kurdistan Region are hoping to expand several border crossings with neighboring Iran due to an increase in trade between both countries.

“Trade between Iran and the Kurdistan Region reached $4 billion last year,” says Fathi Muhammad, an advisor at the ministry of trade in Erbil.

The Kurdistan Region currently has three main border points with Iran: Bashmakh, Parwezkhan and Haji Omran. But according to some officials, the size of trade with Iran calls for the opening of more border crossings.

According to Haval Ibrahim, the spokesman for the Garmiyan administration, the Iranians are also eager to expand several borders that already exist in limited capacity.

“In the last visit by an Iranian delegation to Garmiyan, they asked to open the Tilako border point near Maidan,” said Ibrahim.

With hundreds of miles of shared border, Iran is Kurdistan Region’s second largest trade partner.

Ibrahim said that his office has submitted a formal proposal to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to open Tilako as a third crossing point with Iran, in addition to Parwezkhan and Pishta where considerable trade has been taking place for years.

Meanwhile, local authorities in Halabja, a district that was recently given the official status of a province by the Kurdish government, say that they are working to expand two existing border points with Iran.

“Since Halabja became a province, we have been trying to open some official border crossings with Iran, one of them is at Sazan,” said Khidir Karim, head of the Halabja municipality.

According to local officials, such a move needs the approval of the federal government in Baghdad.

“There have been several meetings between the Iraqi and Iranian governments to make Shoshme an international border crossing, but there hasn’t been formal recognition yet,” Nukhsha Nasih, head of the Byara municipality told Rudaw.

Shoshme’s current capacity is around 125 trucks that cross to and from the Kurdistan Region daily.

Nasih said that negotiations to expand the border crossing have been going on for more than four years.

The Kele border crossing in Pishdar district is yet another small-size customs point that local authorities seek to expand.

“We are waiting for inspectors from Baghdad to come and decide whether Kele can become an international crossing point or not,” said Barham Ahmad, the mayor of Pishdar.

Kurdish and Iraqi officials have brushed aside demands to expand Kele, arguing that it doesn’t meet the requirements of an international customs point.

However, Ahmad said that his city is capable of expanding the gates and building proper roads, but that they lack the funding that Erbil and Baghdad are expected to provide.

He said that more than 250 trucks cross the border at Kele everyday.

Rudaw