President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Hossein Selahvarzi has urged the need for Iran and Iraq to give a boost to mutual investments so as to increase economic cooperation.
Selahvarzi made the remarks in a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday with Iraqi Deputy Minister of Commerce, Sattar Jaber Al-Jabari.
He said that the level of economic relations between Iran and Iraq is lagging behind their political relations, underlining that reaching a $20 billion trade target between the two countries requires more increased investment and trade exchanges.
The Iran Chamber of Commerce said that Iranian companies are much eager to participate in Iraqi projects, urging the need for the Iraqi side to inform the Iranian companies on the details of the tenders of the projects that are going to be implemented in the country.
He also said that Iraq has to let the Iranian businesspeople know in advance about the seasonal restrictions of Iraq.
The Iraqi official, in the meantime, said that all the issues raised by the Iranian side had been discussed in a joint trade committee session in Tehran over the past couple of days. He pledged that all these issues will be pursued by the Iraqi government and the country’s prime minister.
Al-Jabari also said that the Iraqi government is determined to provide support for the private sector.
He added that his country has plans to construct a major industrial town in one of the country’s provinces and another one on the joint border with Iran.
The official touched upon the trade between Iran and Iraq which is hugely to the benefit of the Iranian side and said that if the two countries make optimal use of the existing capacities, the problem of imbalance will undoubtedly be solved.