Sulaimani traders expect Iran FM to make good on previous deals
“How can you enhance trade capacity when you are unable to reassure the second party?” one trader posited.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was received by Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani in Sulaimani for an economic conference on January 15.
Zarif took part in the economic forum where he encouraged Kurdish traders to increase volume between the Kurdistan Region and Iran. The forum created an opportunity for 40 Sulaimani traders whose money has been blocked in Iran for more than a year to voice their concerns to the minister.
Traders of the Kurdistan Region acknowledged that Iran was most convenient for them to trade with, but also complained about the problems and difficulties they experience with Iranian traders.
Kurdish traders shared their concerns and problems with the Iranian foreign minister at the forum. They claimed they had sent a large amount of money to Iran for trade, yet the money had been seized deceitfully through legal proceedings.
“We, 40 Kurdish traders, wired some cash to Iranian banks more than a year ago, especially to the city of Saqqez. But some people have blocked our money at these banks,” Mohammed Hassan, of the traders, said.
The value of Iranian currency has plummeted over the past year against most major currencies including the US dollar due to increased sanctions imposed by Washington against Tehran.
“In light of the value of toman at the time, the value of the cash some of these traders had wired was $250,000. Yet, if he reclaims his money now, he will only get $80,000 due to the falling prices of toman,” he added.
Some Iranian traders have filed baseless lawsuits against these Kurdish traders and Iranian banks have blocked their money without considering the word of Kurdish traders in the matter.
“They blocked $150,000 of the cash I wired. I paid $12,000 to the person who had blocked my money and he then returned my money,” Hassan said.
The volume of business exchanges between the Kurdistan Region and Iran reached $6 billion in 2017.
The volume of trade exchanges with Kurdistan Region traders reached nearly $8 billion in 2018, said Hassan Danaye Far, the advisor of Iranian vice president for economic affairs with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
“We listened to traders in the Kurdistan Region, will take their problems seriously and will return their money which has been seized,” Far told Rudaw in Sulaimani. “We will never allow these trade relations to be lost. We have now passed the phase of exportation and are now working on mutual investment with the Kurdistan Region.”
Sirwan Mohammed, head of Sulaimani business chamber, said he had relayed these concerns to the Iranian trade minister and will do their best in the future too to help traders whose money has been seized.
Hassan said the seizure of their money by Iranian banks has discouraged many Kurdish traders from dealing with Iran.
“If you don’t use the money you send to Iran immediately to purchase goods, you will lose it. That is why traders are reluctant to this kind of trade nowadays,” Hassan said.
“They recently tried a lot to rebuild trust, but failed. Let’s wait and see whether Zarif’s promises will yield anything,” Hassan said.
The KRG says it will try to comply with US sanctions on Iran, but that seems unlikely for both Baghdad and Erbil because of the close trade ties. Iran is Iraq's top trade partner and the Islamic Republic is second for the Kurdistan Region behind Turkey.
Reporting by Jamal Ahmad Jamil
