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DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran and Iraq could boost their annual bilateral trade to $ 12 billion, up from $ 12 billion today, President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday in the face of Tehran's concerns over the economic impact of new economic developments. sanctions imposed by the United States.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani meets Iraqi President Barham Salih in Tehran, Iran, on November 17, 2018. Official Website of the President / Document distributed via REUTERS
Rouhani's remarks, made after a meeting with visiting Iraqi President Barham Salih, comes about two weeks after the United States reinstated sanctions against the Iranian oil industry and its banking and transportation sectors.
"… thanks to bilateral efforts, we can increase this figure (for bilateral trade) to $ 20 billion in the near future," Rouhani said in comments broadcast live on Iranian television.
"We had talks on the trade of electricity, gas, petroleum products and activities … in the field of oil exploration and extraction," he said. Rouhani.
Iraqi officials told Reuters last week that Iraq had agreed to exchange Iraqi food products in exchange for Iranian gas and energy.
Baghdad is seeking US approval to import Iranian gas for its power plants. Iraqi officials say they need more time to find an alternative source than a 45-day waiver granted by the United States.
"It will be important to create free trade zones at the common border and connect the railways of both countries," said Salih.
"We will not forget your support for the Iraqi people in the fight against (the Iraqi dictator) Saddam (Hussein). We do not forget either the position of Iran in the recent fight against terrorism, "said Salih, an Iraqi Kurd.
Iran has a large influence in Iraq, its smallest Arab neighbor, where its Revolutionary Guards played a key role in the training and arming of the mainly Shiite militias that contributed to the defeat of the state. Islamic.
Iraq imports from Iran a wide range of products, including food products, agricultural products, household appliances, air conditioners and car parts. The commodity component of Iran's imports into Iraq amounted to about $ 6 billion for the 12-month period ending March 2018, representing about 15 per cent of Iraq's total imports in 2017.
Energy contracts also contribute to the total volume of bilateral trade.
Iraq's central bank officials said in August that their country's economy was closely linked to a non-Arab Iran, implicated in several proxy wars with Saudi Arabia in the region.
Reportage by the press room of Dubai; Edited by Andrew Heavens and Gareth Jones
