A strategic agreement between Baghdad and Erbil to control the borders and close unofficial crossings

On Wednesday, the federal governments in Baghdad and the regional governments in Erbil reached a strategic agreement to control the borders and close unofficial crossings used for smuggling, while stressing “strengthening intelligence coordination,” according to a statement from the “Media Cell.”

In the past few years, the authorities in Baghdad and Erbil have tried to resolve political and administrative disputes related to sovereign powers on the borders, but officials from both sides spoke of a relative improvement in the level of coordination.

The head of the Security Media Authority, Saad Maan, announced that a strategic security agreement had been reached between the federal government and the Iraqi Kurdistan region, containing about 17 points, focusing on controlling the borders, closing unofficial crossings, and strengthening security and intelligence coordination.

The official agency quoted Lieutenant General Saad Maan as saying, “A meeting was held in the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, headed by the director of the office, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir al-Shammari, the head of the Counter-Terrorism Service, the head of the Border Ports Authority, and the leaders of the federal security services, along with the Chief of Staff of the Peshmerga, and representatives of the security formations in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, to discuss field and intelligence files, in addition to training.”

Maan said, “Iraq is heading to become an influential figure in the region through one sovereign security decision within one state that does not affect the privacy of the Peshmerga.”

There were political forces within the ruling coalition; The “coordination framework” demands the removal of security powers from the “Peshmerga” forces inside the Kurdistan region, in addition to their dissolution, in response to calls for dismantling the factions and restricting their weapons. However, legal experts confirm that constitutional texts resolve this type of dispute, which mostly has a political nature.

The security meeting between Baghdad and Erbil agreed to “enhance the security of areas of common interest, and activate (the two coordination brigades) to prevent the exploitation of any gaps or geographical gaps by the remnants of terrorism and smuggling gangs,” according to Lieutenant General Saad Maan.

Comprehensive survey

The head of the “Security Media Cell” said that the meeting also agreed to form a committee headed by the “Border Ports Authority” to conduct a comprehensive survey of the ports and the border strip in the region. To close the informal ones and keep those that meet the conditions to be subject to joint management, in addition to controlling the irregular openings and enhancing the spread and role of the border guard forces with the support of the Peshmerga forces, especially on the Iraqi-Turkish border.

The meeting approved, according to Lieutenant General Maan, “activating coordination through the joint communication centers in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah to pursue those wanted by the judiciary, and to address the file of violating foreign workers and deport them in accordance with the Iraqi residency law in coordination with Baghdad, in addition to expanding joint operations to combat drug trafficking networks,” stressing that “the discussions were dominated by complete harmony and great understanding without recording any controversial points.”

The agreement came after discussions held by the Iraqi National Security Advisor, Qasim Al-Aboudi, with the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Masoud Barzani, in mid-August, which reached an agreement on “continuing coordination between the federal government and the Kurdistan Region regarding border security and combating smuggling.”

The Kurdistan Region has a common border with Iran that extends over a distance of more than a thousand kilometers of rugged mountains and valleys on the eastern side of the region, while the number of official ports between them is 4 main international ports. They are: Haj Omran, Bashmakh, Parvizkhan, and Siran Band.

While the common border between Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey is about 367 kilometers long, and extends through rugged mountainous areas in northern Iraq, it has two official crossing points: “Ibrahim Al-Khalil” in the Khabur area, and “Zayt Al-Waqiq” in the Soran area in Erbil.