Officials from Dohuk and Nineveh Governorate on Monday announced the reopening of the road linking the two neighboring provinces after closure of over three years due to the Islamic State (IS) war.

In a joint press conference, the governor of Nineveh, Nawfal Hammadi, and the governor of Dohuk, Farhad Atrushi, revealed that the opening of the road would “reflect positively on the commercial movement between Mosul and the provinces in the Kurdistan Region.”

“God willing, after this initiative will be the beginning of good for Nineveh,” the governors stated.

Atrushi added that the reopening of the main road between the two provinces would “ease many problems for the population as well as revive the economy and trade movement.”

Mosul is the second largest city in Iraq and is located in Nineveh Province. 

The Mosul-Dohuk road is a strategic route between Iraq and Turkey, where trade movement between the two countries had been consistent throughout the years before the fall of Mosul to IS in 2014.

Following Mosul’s liberation last year, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said it planned to reopen the roads linking the two provinces.

However, matters were delayed in the wake of the Oct. 16 military takeover of disputed areas by the Iraqi army and Hashd al-Shaabi.

Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia militias took over Kirkuk Province and other disputed areas, including Nineveh, in response to the Kurdistan Region’s historic independence vote on Sep. 25 where an overwhelming majority voted for secession from Iraq.

In early December, Iraq declared victory over IS following three years of devastating war.