Iraq carries out the first historic international land transport operation

The Iraqi Ministry of Transport announced today, Sunday, that Iraq received the first experimental flight in coordination with the International Road Transport Union (IRU) via the (TIR) ​​system.

The Ministry's media office quoted Murtadha Karim Al-Shahmani, Director General of the General Company for Land Transport, as saying in a statement today, "Today, Sunday, we received the first experimental trip via the (TIR) ​​system, which departed from the Turkish port of Mersin via Iraqi territory, where its entry procedures were received at the Ibrahim Al-Khalil port and it departed towards Umm Qasr port, and its final destination will be Khalifa Port in (Abu Dhabi)."

The ministry confirmed that "Iraq is close to achieving a historic achievement in cross-border trade, noting that it is expected that transport operations will continue under the umbrella of the international land transport system soon, as this event represents a turning point for the country and a major step towards full integration into the recognized international system for customs transit."

The International Road Transport Union (IRU) announced early last February that Iraq was ready to implement the first historic transport operation via the international land transport system (TIR), in a historic step towards enhancing cross-border trade.

The union says that its system relies on shipping goods from the country of origin to the country of destination in sealed cargo compartments subject to customs control through a multilateral and mutually recognized system.