By Dr. Sura Mawfaq Maqsoud, for the Al-Bayan Center for Planning and Studies. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Geo-Economic Competition and Regional Balance: The Development Road and Iraq-Iran Railway Link as a Model
Amid various international interactions, a number of major commercial projects have emerged on the world stage, with regional and global initiatives converging on Iraq due to its strategically important location linking East and West. Iraq shares land borders with six countries; its border with Iran stretches some 1,300 km (representing 37.6% of Iraq's total borders), while its border with Turkey extends 337 km (10.9%).
These rising regional powers in the Middle East are therefore seeking to present Iraq with their most significant regional projects and initiatives. This paper examines the importance of each of these projects - whether Turkey's Development Road or the railway link with Iran - the economic rationale for Iraq's participation in each, Iraq's role within these projects, and whether they could serve to revive Iraqi infrastructure and open pathways for external cooperation with the world in the fields of economics, trade, culture and education.
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