Saudi Arabia accelerates plans for tax-free economic zone with Iraq

Shafaq News / Saudi Investment Minister, Khalid Al-Fatih, announced on Sunday that the kingdom is accelerating steps to launch its first free economic zone with Iraq in the border area of Arar.

Al-Fatih mentioned that the Saudi Economic Cities Authority is exploring establishing a connection between border areas and free zones with neighboring countries. He expressed hopes for Arar, the border region with Iraq, to become the first tax-free economic zone with a neighboring country, facilitating investors from both nations without taxes, fees, or entry visas.

The Saudi Investment Minister made these remarks during a forum on investment in the Northern Borders region, held in the city of Arar, Saudi Arabia. He highlighted about 100 new investment opportunities, worth 20 billion riyals, in addition to existing opportunities valued at around 80 billion riyals.

He noted that Arar's new land border crossing in the Northern Borders region has become one of the trade gateways between Saudi Arabia and Iraq over the past two years. The land trade volume during the first half of the current year reached approximately 913.1 million riyals. He also mentioned that the trade volume between Saudi Arabia and Iraq in 2021 amounted to about 3.5 billion riyals.

A study by the Northern Borders Chamber of Commerce and Industry revealed that trade between the two countries increased from 294 million riyals in January to 381 million riyals in March. However, Saudi imports from Iraq during the same period decreased from 11.5 million riyals to 8.6 million riyals.

Saudi exports to Iraq mainly consist of aluminum and its products, electrical devices and equipment, grain-based preparations, dairy products, animal products for consumption, and metal products. On the other hand, imports from Iraq include aluminum and its products, gum and plant extracts, sugar and its derivatives, copper, and its products.

The Northern Borders region of Saudi Arabia holds 25% of the kingdom's mining wealth, totaling 1.2 trillion riyals, according to the Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Mining Affairs, Khaled Al-Mudaifer.

Moreover, this Saudi region possesses about 7% of the global phosphate reserves, with an investment volume of approximately 85 billion riyals in two stages.

The Northern region serves as an international passage for trade and transportation through three corridors: the first through Iraq to East Asian countries, the second via Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and Europe, and the third to the Gulf Arab states.

Earlier this month, on the 22nd, the Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Minerals announced its preliminary approval for establishing a joint economic zone with Saudi Arabia along the border between the two countries.