Shafaq News/ Trade between Iran's Azerbaijan and Erbil soared to a record $1 billion last year, officials announced today, Thursday, at a joint press conference in the Kurdistan region's capital city.

This growth is credited to the implementation of the first economic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by both sides in Urmia, Iran, in 2023.

Mohammad Sadiq, Governor of Iran's West Azerbaijan Province, called the second economic meeting of border territories governors from Iran and the Kurdistan region "instrumental in furthering economic and trade ties."

Sadiq stressed the importance of "completing border infrastructure and ensuring 24/7 operations at crossings" for continued trade growth.

"We seek to expand comprehensive relations with Iran," said Omed Khoshnaw, Governor of Erbil, "recognizing the importance of this cooperation for improving livelihoods."

Khoshnaw emphasized the need to "implement previous MoUs" and praised the "support of high-level Iraqi and Iranian officials for developing relations."

He also said that the governorate's infrastructure is ready to handle al-Arbaeen pilgrims this year at the Tmarjin and Bashmaq crossings. Khoshnaw pledged to utilize past experiences "to minimize issues encountered previously."

Road accidents are a recurring accompaniment to al-Arbaeen, which begins in August this year. Last year, 16 Iranian pilgrims died in a traffic accident in Iraq.

Millions of Shiite pilgrims, many of them from Iran, head each year to the holy shrine city of Karbala for al-Arbaeen, one of the world's biggest religious gatherings.

The marks the end of the 40-day mourning period for the killing of Imam Hussein - a central figure in Shiite Islam and grandson of the Prophet Mohammed - by the army of the caliph Yazid in 680 AD.

The Governor of West Azerbaijan arrived in Erbil on Wednesday via the Haji Omran border crossing for the second meeting between the governors.

There are several border crossings between the Kurdistan Region and Iran, but only three are internationally recognized: Bashmaq and Parviz Khan in al-Sulaymaniyah, and Haji Omran in Erbil.