TEHRAN- The head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture said that $128 million worth of technical and engineering services were exported to Iraq in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-September 22), which is not an appropriate figure.

Yahya Ale-Eshaq stated that an annual export of $300 to $400 million in technical and engineering services is not a good statistic; this capacity must be increased.

He continued: If Iraq's capacities in the technical and engineering sector are not utilized, other competitors will enter this market.

Noting that last year Iran's exports to Iraq amounted to $12 billion, he said that the unofficial export statistics are $15 billion.

The head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture further said: “At some points, we had $4 billion in technical and engineering services per year, but now this figure has reached $300 to $400 million.”

He said that Iraq is the second destination for Iran's exports after China and added: The Prime Minister of Iraq has announced that Iraq has implemented a total of about 88 engineering projects. According to this report, Iraq has utilized about $100 billion of its own resources as well as foreign investments in these projects.

Ale-Eshaq continued: “In this field, knowledge and technical expertise play an important role, and there are many opportunities for development and activity in this area.”

Emphasizing that 70 percent of services in Iraq are imported, he said: “Technical knowledge and engineering services are areas with high potential, and we hope these capacities will be utilized.”

The head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture stated that a memorandum of understanding with the Iranian Association of Oil Industry Equipment Manufacturers in the field of technical and engineering services is being signed to facilitate progress in this area.

The export of technical and engineering services creates dependency in the target market, according to Payam Bagheri, the deputy head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA).

He stated that the nature of exporting technical and engineering services is different, adding: “This type of export leads to dependency in the target market and generates wealth, which results in sustainable economic development.”

On October 13, Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, the Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), and the Association of Exporters of Technical and Engineering Services signed a tripartite memorandum of cooperation aimed at forming a joint committee to expand Iran’s export capacity in technical and engineering services.

The initiative, pursued by ICCIMA’s Committee for Technical, Engineering and Construction Services, seeks to revitalize Iran’s presence in regional markets by removing obstacles, coordinating with financial institutions, and streamlining export procedures. A representative from the Central Bank of Iran also attended the signing ceremony, expressing readiness to cooperate in implementing the agreement.

ICCIMA Head Samad Hassanzadeh called the signing “a meaningful and promising step,” saying that Iran urgently needs to expand exports. “Achieving this goal requires full institutional cooperation with a supportive and pragmatic approach. Regional countries recognize Iran as one of the largest exporters of engineering services, and demand for Iranian expertise remains high,” he said.

Hassanzadeh emphasized that collaboration among the TPO, Central Bank, and private sector can significantly enhance project execution and overall export value. “Iran possesses vast experience in engineering services, and by leveraging this strength through economic diplomacy, we can restore and expand our trade ties with neighboring countries,” he said.

TPO head Mohammad Ali Dehghan-Dehnavi described Iran’s history in engineering service exports as “illustrious,” noting that the sector once accounted for over 10 percent of the country’s total exports. Although this share has declined, he said the new cooperation framework aims to restore and surpass those golden years.

“Engineering service exports are the modern artistic expression of Iran’s technical expertise in global markets, and we must nurture and expand this presence,” Dehghan-Dehnavi said.

He added that Iran targets $6.0 billion in engineering service exports under this new roadmap, which includes coordinated efforts to identify projects, support contractors, and strengthen legal and diplomatic backing for exporters.

The deputy minister noted that the TPO, ICCIMA, and the exporters’ association would now operate within a unified framework, forming a powerful network to boost exports, with support from Iran’s commercial attachés in target markets.

As previously announced by Abolfazl Akbarpour, the deputy head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) for planning and international affairs, Iran exported non-oil commodities valued at $11.9 billion to Iraq in the past Iranian calendar year 1403, which ended on March 20.

Abolfazl Akbarpour, the deputy head of IRICA for planning and international affairs, said that Iraq was Iran’s second top non-oil export destination in the previous year.

Considering Iran's vast export capacity and Iraq’s large market for Iranian goods, both sides want to expand the volume of bilateral economic exchanges.

Iran and Iraq have set a target of $20 billion in annual trade, and businessmen and authorities of both countries are determined to meet that target.

In late May 2024, the head of the Department of Spatial Planning and Regional Planning of the Iranian Planning and Budget Organization (PBO) said that Iran exports some 2,200 products, valued at $12 billion, to neighboring Iraq annually.

Speaking in a meeting entitled “Reviewing opportunities and challenges of attracting Iraqi investors and strengthening trade relations between the two countries in line with demarcating Iran in the regional value chain”, Jafar Hosseini said that Iraq, benefiting from $85 billion foreign currency reserves, 130 tons of gold reserves, and 147 billion barrels of proven reserves of crude oil, is among the richest countries in West Asia.

Currently, Iran exports over 2,200 various types of goods and products to Iraq, he said, adding that more than half of the active Iranian traders are present in the Iraqi market.

Developing the trade infrastructures to facilitate trade between the two countries, encouraging traders to invest in Iraq, promoting trade through dispatching and admitting trade delegations and participating in exhibitions of the two countries, etc. are suggested to strengthen the trade and economic relations between Iran and Iraq, he underlined.

In an interview in mid-December last year, the ambassador of Iran in Iraq praised the economic relations between the two sides and expressed hope that these relations will be more and better.

Mohammad Kazem Ale-Sadeq announced the value of commercial exchanges between the two countries, and stated that economic relations between Iran and Iraq are very good, and expressed hope that these relations will improve.

The envoy further noted: “Iraq is an important country in the region, and we have very important economic, political, and social relations with this neighbor.”

In early May 2024, Tehran hosted the 6th meeting of the Iran-Iraq Joint Economic Committee.

The two-day event was co-chaired by the former Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ehsan Khandouzi and Iraqi Minister of Commerce Atheer Daoud Al-Ghurairi.

On the first day of the meeting, specialized committees including commercial, industrial, agricultural, standardization and quality control, energy, finance, banking, investment and Insurance, shipping, transport, and Customs, scientific, educational, tourism, health, as well as sports consulate held meetings to discuss areas for cooperation.

Increasing non-oil exports to the neighboring countries is one of the major plans that the Iranian government has been pursuing in recent years.

Iran shares land or water borders with 15 countries namely the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Saudi Arabia.

MA