In a meeting on Tuesday between a visiting Iranian delegation and private sector activists from the Iraqi city of Kabala, the two sides underlined the need for further cooperation on providing access to the markets of Syria and Lebanon.
As the first part of the meeting, which was held in Iran’s consulate in Karbala, businesspersons from both sides held B2B talks in which they reviewed ways for bilateral cooperation.
Speaking in the end of the meeting, the Iran Chamber Chief Gholam Hossein Shafei said that B2B talks are the most important part of the trade visits, underlining the need for increasing relations between businesspersons from different provinces of the two countries.
In the meantime, Mohammad Reza Pourebrahimi, the head of Majlis (Iranian Parliament) Economic Commission, said that relations with Iran has to be seen more than the existing capacities so as to lead to cooperation to pave the way for Iran’s access to Syrian and Lebanon markets.
“With the coordination made in this visit, transit of Iranian commodities via Iraqi soil will begin soon which means the opening of the trade route to Syria, Lebanon and even Europe,” Pourebrahimi said.
He pledged that the Iranian Parliament supports the private sector in expansion of bilateral and multilateral relations with Iraq.
President of Iran Chamber of Commerce left Tehran for Iraq on Sunday at the head of a top ranking economic delegation. Four Members of Parliament, the Head of Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, and a number of Iranian private sector activists are accompanying Gholam Hossein Shafei in his three-day visit to Iraq.
During their stay in Iraq, the Iranian economic delegation has already visited Iraq Federation of Industries, the Iraqi Federation of Chambers of Commerce, and have had talks with the Head of Iraq’s Border Ports Authority and the Head of Iraq's National Investment Commission Suha Najjar.
According to the latest data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, Iraq with 23.16 million tons worth $6.84 billion was Iran’s second top trade partner in the region after the UAE during the current fiscal year’s first eight months (March 21-Nov. 21).
Iran exported 21.64 million tons of goods worth $6.13 billion to Iraq and imported 1.51 million tons worth $706.86 million from the neighboring country.