TEHRAN – The head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce Yahya Al-e Eshaq says Iran and Iraq should make joint investments as a way to give a further boost to bilateral trade relations.

He made the remarks in an Iran-Iraq Business Forum at the headquarters of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) in Tehran on Monday.

Noting that Iran’s last year trade exchanges with Iraq stood at $10 billion while non-official reports even put the figure at $14 billion, Al-e Eshaq said that the fulfillment of a $20 billion target for bilateral exchanges is not difficult.  

Iraq’s annual investment budget is some $150 billion which is a significant amount, he said, adding that Iran should make efforts to increase its share of this budget.

He also referred to the existence of problems in the field of financial transfers, while stressing that these problems can be solved as the central banks of the two countries are negotiating in this regard. 

Speaking in the meantime, the vice president of the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce said that his country is determined to increase bilateral trade with Iran to $20 billion.

He referred to different obstacles in the way of exchanges, noting that the two countries have tried to resolve the issues through barter trade.

The governments of Tehran and Baghdad have agreed that Iraq will export as much as 100,000 barrels per day of oil in exchange for its electricity and gas imports from Iran, he said. 

He added that trade in national currencies is another way to remove problems on the way of bilateral exchanges and thwart the effects of sanctions.

EF/