Kurdistan Region and Iraq Agree on Joint Border Inspection Committee
A new federal-KRG committee will inspect border areas, assess unofficial crossings, and recommend which can be legalized while closing those that fail to meet official requirements.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Iraq's Border Ports Commission has approved the formation of a high-level joint committee with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to conduct field inspections along the Region's borders and close all illegal border crossings, in a move aimed at regulating trade, strengthening border controls, and combating smuggling.
The decision was approved on Tuesday, during a meeting of Iraq's Border Ports Commission, which endorsed recommendations submitted by the Ministerial Council for the Economy. The initiative comes as part of broader coordination between Erbil and Baghdad to reinforce the rule of law across all border crossings.
According to a statement from the Border Ports Commission, the committee, headed by the federal Border Ports Commission and including representatives from the relevant authorities—will carry out comprehensive field inspections along the Kurdistan Region's border areas.
Its primary task will be to identify and permanently close all unofficial border crossings operating without formal authorization or outside state supervision.
The commission said the strategic objective of the initiative is to fully regulate commercial activity, tighten border control, and prevent trade conducted outside legal, customs, and health regulations.
Authorities expect the measure to improve customs revenue collection while preventing the loss of public funds and protecting Iraq's economic security.
The decision follows the fifth meeting of the Ministerial Council for the Economy on Monday, chaired by Acting Minister of Planning and Finance Faleh Al-Sari.
A KRG delegation, led by the Kurdistan Region's Minister of Finance and including the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, the head of the KRG Representation Office, directors general of customs, taxation, and auditing, as well as several experts, participated in the meeting.
Among the council's decisions was the establishment of the joint committee, comprising representatives from the federal Border Ports Commission and the relevant federal and KRG institutions.
The committee will conduct a comprehensive survey of the border areas and inspect unofficial crossings across the Kurdistan Region before submitting a detailed report to the council.
The report will identify which crossings have the infrastructure and conditions required to receive official status, while recommending the closure of those that do not meet the necessary standards.
The meeting also decided that Iraq's Ministry of Finance, in coordination with the KRG Ministry of Finance, will prepare a unified draft regulation on customs exemptions and tariff reductions. Once approved by the Federal Council of Ministers, the regulation will be circulated to all border crossings for implementation.