Iraq to Replace Iran in Goods Transit Between UAE and Turkey
Apparently, preliminary agreements between the UAE and Turkey have resulted in Iraq replacing Iran for goods transit. Turkey’s Foreign Minister says the UAE has made proposals in this regard that Ankara welcomes.
With the start of the new calendar year, news sources reported, citing Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, that the UAE has proposed to Ankara that Iraq replace Iran for goods transit between the two countries.
According to Anadolu Agency, Çavuşoğlu said in a television program that the Turkish government received a proposal from the UAE to sign an agreement on land transportation, which it welcomed, and negotiations on it are currently underway.
UAE’s Motivation for Replacing Iran with Iraq
He says the motivation of the Emiratis for redirecting the land route through Iraq instead of Iran is to reduce the transportation time of shipments.
The two transit routes through Iraq and Iran do not have significant differences in terms of distance; the UAE must first transport its goods through the Persian Gulf to one of Iran’s or Iraq’s ports.
Iranian ports are closer for this purpose, but the land route to reach the Turkish border through Iraq is significantly shorter.
Moreover, Turkey intends to connect the Basra port to Istanbul via railway. Iran has been trying for two decades to connect Shalcheh to Basra and Iraq’s railway network, but has not succeeded so far.
According to Çavuşoğlu, a large portion of time on the land route is spent on customs clearance, which could potentially be resolved after an agreement with the UAE in a tripartite agreement with Iraq.
UAE Relations with Israel
It appears that Iraq has made more economical proposals for goods transit through the country. Mehr News Agency reported yesterday (December 31) that according to “some economic diplomacy experts” whom it did not name, it claims: “Americans have been effective in pressuring the Baghdad government to increase discounts on goods transit through their territory to increase the economic viability of transit from this country.”
Mehr News Agency, referring to UAE-Israel relations that have been normalized for some time, writes: “It appears that in the matter of the UAE’s request to Ankara to replace Iran with Iraq for goods transit to Turkey, the pressures of the Zionist regime have not been without effect.”
Relations between the Islamic Republic and most Arab countries in the Persian Gulf region have been very tense in recent years, and the proximity of some of these countries to Israel has faced strong criticism and attacks from senior Iranian officials.
Nevertheless, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s National Security Advisor and brother of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the country’s Crown Prince, visited Tehran in mid-December on a one-day trip and met and held talks with his Iranian counterpart Ali Shamkhani and the head of the thirteenth government, Ibrahim Raisi.
Erdoğan on the Way to Sign the Agreement in February?
Some observers assessed this visit, which took place after years of tensions in bilateral relations, as the beginning of improved relations between Iran and the UAE, but according to available evidence, the proposal to replace Iran with Iraq was presented to Turkey after this visit.
In any case, as Çavuşoğlu said, the signing of the goods transit agreement between the UAE and Turkey through Iraq appears to be definite.
He says Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will visit the UAE in February, and Ankara wants to witness the signing of the goods transit agreement on the sidelines of this visit.
Source: DW
