TEHRAN - Governor of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnaser Hemmati says Iran and Iraq are going to implement an agreement in the coming weeks based on which Iran is going to use its energy export revenues in Iraq for supplying basic goods, IRNA reported.

Accompanied by a delegation comprised of representatives from the central bank, the Ministry of Industry, Mining, and Trade, the Ministry of Energy and the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), Hemmati paid a day-long visit to Iraq on Wednesday, where he met with Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the country’s Finance Minister Ali Abdul Amir Alavi and his Iraqi counterpart Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq.

According to the official, under the framework of the mentioned agreement, Iran will use its gas and electricity export revenues which amount at several billion dollars a year in addition to CBI resources in Iraq, for importing its required goods from the country.

“Last year, we signed an agreement on how to use the revenues from gas and electricity exports to Iraq. However, due to some problems, the agreement didn’t become fully operational; in today's talks we reached a consensus on how to implement the agreement and to use the resources of the central bank to buy basic goods and medicine, God willing, we will take operational steps next week.” Hemmati wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday.

In the meeting with Al-Alaq, Hemmati noted: “Iran will use its huge financial resources in Iraq for doing the purchases under the framework of this agreement.”

The Iraqi central bank governor Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, for his part, explained that Iran's resources in Iraq are the revenues of the country earned from exports of gas and electricity to Iraq.

According to Hemmati, in his meeting with al-Kadhimi, the prime minister emphasized his country’s determination for resolving the problems regarding the electricity and gas due payments, saying: "I have had meetings with the relevant officials in this regard and I am aware of the problems. I have asked them to resolve them."

"We have an agreement for solving the money transfer problems by providing food and basic goods, and we will cooperate in this regard; in addition, Iraqi businessmen are interested in cooperating, and I have personally ordered that the problems related to Iran's payment be resolved,” Kadhimi said.

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Photo: Governor of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnasser Hemmati (L) meet with his Iraqi counterpart Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq in Baghdad on Wednesday.