TEHRAN – During his visit to Baghdad on Monday, Abdolnasser Hemmati, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), announced that he reached an agreement with the Iraqi authorities to unblock Iranian assets in Iraq. 

Hemmati said the assets will be used to buy basic goods, according to IRNA.  

Hemmati said Iran has significant assets in frozen bank accounts in Iraq. 

Iran is exporting gas and electricity to Iraq.

Writing on his Instagram page, Hemmati said in his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the prime minister expressed satisfaction at the agreement and insisted that he would follow the issue on a weekly basis.

Hemmati was accompanied by a banking and commercial delegation to Iraq. 

Upon his arrival in Baghdad, Hemmati held talks with his Iraqi counterpart Mustafa Ghaleb, making headway in resolving the banking issues with neighboring Iraq.

Ghaleb said the Iraqi authorities are determined to resolve banking issues between the two countries.

“We do our utmost to continue the cooperation between the two countries. The existing problems related to Iran’s financial and monetary demands will be settled,” Ghaleb was quoted as saying by IRNA.
 
The governor of Iraq’s central bank proposed that the two countries set up a joint committee to explore ways to resolve financial differences between the two countries.

In the meeting, Hemmati called Iran-Iraq relations “very important” and said Tehran attaches great importance to the expansion of ties with Iraq.

Hemmati also held talks with Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Allawi and Salem Jawad al-Chalabi, the head of the Trade Bank of Iraq.

SM/PA