TEHRAN- During a meeting between Iranian Agriculture Minister Kazem Khavazi and his Iraq counterpart in Mashhad on Tuesday night, the Iranian minister said that agricultural products account for 23% of Iran’s export to Iraq.

“We have very good trade relations with Iraq and a large amount of our goods are exported to this country”, Khavazi stated.

“We are happy that relations with Iraq are expanding day by day and we are ready to sign a long-term contract with our neighbor in the agricultural sector”, the official added.

“To cooperate in different sectors, we must have a timetable that fits the agricultural calendars of the two countries”, Khavazi said, adding, “There is a good ground for importing goods that we import from other countries that we can supply from Iraq to help our trade balance.”

In mid-January, Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, who is the head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Economic Committee, said that the two countries’ annual trade is going to be increased to $20 billion.

Ardakanian made the remarks in the opening ceremony of the two countries’ fourth Joint Economic Committee meeting in Tehran, which he co-chaired with the Iraqi Trade Minister Alla Ahmed Al-Jubouri.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to support the export of Iranian engineering and technical services to Iraq by establishing a joint investment fund,” he said, adding that new agreements are going to be signed between the two countries in the fields of water and energy.

He also underlined the development of transportation lines between the two countries as an important factor in the development of trade relations between the two countries and added: “We are ready to implement the previous agreements in the fields of electricity, gas, and water, and to formulate new agreements in this field in order to develop cooperation between the two countries.”

The official further called for signing agreements for cooperation in other fields including double taxation, investment, preferential tariffs, and customs.

Ardakanian also mentioned the positive political relations between the two countries as a base for boosting economic relations.

He expressed hope that with the efforts of the two countries’ governments and businessmen, the development of trade and economic relations between the two sides will become smoother and the talks in the Joint Economic Committee meeting will lead to the signing of documents to develop bilateral cooperation.

Further in the meeting, Al-Jubouri said the presence of a high-ranking Iraqi delegation at the two countries’ Joint Economic Committee meeting is an indication of Iraq’s determination for boosting cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to identify and eliminate existing obstacles in the way of the two sides’ trade development and to take the necessary measures.

“Given the important relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq, both countries can help each other by sharing their experiences and technical knowledge to have good cooperation on important economic issues,” he stressed.

MA/MA