President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Samad Hassanzadeh has voiced the willingness of Iranian private sector to invest in the electricity and industry sectors of neighboring Iraq.
Hassanzadeh made the remarks during a meeting in Tehran on Monday with Mohammed Ali Hazim Al Mashhadani, Chairman of Iraq’s Nineveh Chamber of Industry.
Problems hindering monetary and banking exchanges between Iran and Iraq have to be solved as soon as possible, he said, expressing hope that the inauguration of Iran’s new president would help this issue.
He referred to Iran as the third trade partner of Iraq but still insisted that their bilateral trade need to increase from a current $12 billion to $20 billion.
Hassanzadeh added that the Iranian private sector stands ready to make joint investments in launching production units and constructing power plants, roads, dams, residential units in Iraq, as well as contributing to petrochemical and food industries and offering engineering, medical and health tourism services to the country.
The Iraqi side, for his part, said that the Nineveh Chamber of Industry is ready to make use of investments by Iranian private sector and will support such cooperation between the two sides.
Nineveh Chamber of Industry tries to introduce Iran’s industrial capabilities to the production units of the province, Al Mashhadani said, adding that Nineveh holds an industrial exhibition each year and hopes that the Iran Chamber of Commerce will also participate in the event.
He also said that he favors the partnership of the Iranian private sector in launching auto factories, and helping cement, electricity, food and construction industries in Nineveh.
He added that establishing an Iranian consulate in Nineveh can largely help further strengthen relations between the two neighboring countries.
Al Mashhadani invited the president of Iran Chamber of Commerce to visit Nineveh Province at the head of a trade delegation.