Iraq’s Transport Ministry said on Sunday that it had opened 7 new international transit routes over 8 months as part of efforts to turn Iraq into a regional logistics hub linking the Gulf with Turkey and Europe and to develop non-oil sectors.
Expanding the multimodal transport network
Isra Hanoon, director of the ministry’s Land Transport Management Department, said the ministry was working to establish Iraq as a transport and transit hub between the Gulf, Turkey and Europe by developing the road network and ports and linking them within a multimodal transport system.
Hanoon added that the ministry’s plans included activating and expanding the international road transport system, opening international routes, simplifying border and customs procedures, strengthening digital transformation and coordination among relevant authorities, and implementing strategic projects in parallel. These measures would reduce truck transit times and enhance Iraq’s competitiveness as a trade corridor.
She said transit traffic had recorded clear growth since the implementation of the international road transport system, according to a statement by the International Road Transport Union. International routes also expanded in 2026, with 7 new routes opened over 8 months, reflecting the growing use of Iraqi territory as an international transport corridor.
Hanoon said the goal was not limited to increasing the number of trucks, but also included gradually achieving large-scale, sustainable transit traffic while improving the efficiency of border crossings, roads and logistics services to attract a larger share of trade flows between Asia, the Gulf, Turkey and Europe.
Routes to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Turkmenistan
Hanoon pointed to growing transit traffic on Iraqi roads to and from various countries, particularly Turkey, the Arab Gulf states, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, as Iraq gradually becomes connected to routes extending toward Central Asian countries and Europe.
She added that Turkey represented a gateway to European markets, while Iraq served as a link between Turkey and the Gulf and between countries in the region and Central Asia. She noted that new routes to Saudi Arabia and Turkmenistan had begun operating recently, expanding Iraq’s transit network.
She said the diversity of the routes indicated Iraq’s transformation from a limited transit country into a potential regional hub for logistics and international transport.
Developing border crossings and logistics services
Hanoon said Iraq had an infrastructure base that qualified it to play a regional role, but that it needed continued development and expansion to keep pace with the expected increase in transit traffic.
She explained that roads, border crossings, ports and railways formed the foundation of these plans, while accommodating large numbers of trucks would require the development of inspection and waiting areas, logistics service centers, electronic connectivity, truck scales and rest stops.
Increasing non-oil revenues
Last month, the Iraqi prime minister’s financial adviser, Mazhar Mohammed Saleh, said Baghdad aimed to raise non-oil revenues from 10% to 45% of the general budget by 2037.
The Iraqi government is working to develop non-oil economic sectors, including transport and logistics, to capitalize on the country’s location between the Gulf and Turkey and onward to Europe, as well as the potential to reach Mediterranean ports by transporting goods to Syria’s Baniyas port.
Iraq still relies on oil revenues to provide about 90% of state resources, finance imports and pay the salaries of government and public-sector employees and retirees, who account for about 20% of a population of more than 46 million.
The importance of diversifying Iraq’s economy and developing non-oil sectors increased after the US-Israeli war on Iran disrupted navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, through which most of Iraq’s oil exports pass, causing them to decline from their prewar levels.
