Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari said that Iraq is the first priority for Iran in developing trade relations with the regional states.
Safari said that building trade and economic relations with neighboring countries is prioritized in the current administration of President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi.
From among the regional countries, Iraq is the first priority of the Islamic Republic of Iran in enhancing trade and economic relations, he added.
Safari stated that Iran attaches great importance to enhance its trade and economic relations with neighboring Iraq.
He made the remarks in a meeting with Governor-General of Iraqi’s Basra province on Saturday.
During the meeting, the two sides exchanged their views on increasing bilateral trade and economic relations through Shalamcheh Border Terminal, connection of Khorramshahr railway to Basra and also delegating various technical and engineering projects of the province to competent Iranian companies.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Safari pointed to the high capabilities and potentials of the country in the field of producing medicines based on new technologies, and said that Iranian small-sized pharmaceutical firms are ready to establish pharmaceutical cooperation with Iraqi province of Basra, specially in the field of cancerous medicines.
The issue of road, air, rail and sea transportation is of paramount importance in the fields of trade and exports, he added.
The value of Iran's exports to Iraq exceeded $8 billion in the first 11 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2021-February 20, 2022), Chairman of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce Yahya Al-Es'haq announced in November.
"This year, imports from Iraq have reached about $2 billion, while last year the value of our imports from that country was about $140 million to $150 million," the Iranian official said.
He pointed out that exports to Iran are expected to exceed $9 billion by the end of the year from the current $8.2 billion.