According to the agency's report, Tamar Ramadan, the governor of Dohuk, the Iraqi province bordering Turkey, said the value of trade has reached $6 billion annually, up from $3 billion in 2007 He also said he expects the trade volume with Turkey to hit $8 billion next year. Dohuk, some 460 kilometers north of Baghdad, has a long border with Turkey and serves as a gateway for trade between the two neighbors.
Turkey's ties with the Kurdish administration of the region have improved significantly over the last couple of years as part of Turkey's “zero problems, maximum trade, with neighbors” foreign policy strategy. The economic relations are expected to further advance given the proximity of the two and Iraq's increased efforts to recover from the destructive impact of protracted war and instability.