President of Iran Chamber of Commerce has called for resolving border, customs and banking barriers between Iran and Iraq to pave the ground for the private sectors to work with each other.
“As a representative of the private sector, we are interested in developing and improving our economic relations with Iraq, which will contribute to the level of public welfare of the people of the two countries,” Gholam Hossein Shafei said in a meeting with Abdel Razzak El-zouhairy, chairman of the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ICCIA).
Shafei said that both governments of Iran and Iraq had a positive view of bilateral trade development while asking for removal of business visa issuance problems.
The chairman of the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ICCIA) mentioned the economic opportunities between the two countries, adding, "In addition to trade opportunities, there are vast investment opportunities in agriculture and industry sectors and we need to consider them”.
“The volume of trade between the two countries is very low considering the existing potential and opportunities,” Abdel Razzak El-zouhairy said.
“I am not against imports and exports, but I believe that investment opportunities should be created and strengthened between the two countries,” he said.
Iraq stands second in the list of Iran’s top export destinations.
Iran’s main export destinations during the nine months ending Dec. 20. included China with 20.6 million tons worth $6.4 billion, Iraq with 20.8 million tons worth $5.9 billion, and the UAE with 11.4 million tons worth $3.3 billion.