26 January 2012
Trade between Iran and Iraq currently stands at $7 billion and the figure is expected to increase in the future, said roads and urban development minister on Wednesday.
Ali Nikzad further told the visiting Iraqi delegation headed by the country's Minister of Transportation Hadi Al-Ameri that Iran and Iraq share a large number of commonalities and this can help the two countries expand ties in fields of mutual interest, IRNA reported.
A long common border shared by the two countries has paved the way for further consolidation of bilateral ties, he noted.
Congratulating his Iraqi counterpart for the departure of US forces, Nikzad said the two sides should make efforts to provide each other's pilgrims with the best facilities.
He called for an increase in the number of flights between cities of the two neighboring countries, pointing out that using the capacity of land transportation fleet for transporting cargo and passenger between Iraq and Iraq is of great importance.
The minister noted rail transportation facilities of the two countries should also be used properly towards this end.
Thanks to efforts by Port and Shipping Organization of Iran and the Iraqi side, Khorramshahr Port, Khuzestan province and Umm Al-Qasr port in Iraq are expected to become sister cities in the future, he said.
Earlier in September, secretary general of Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce announced that balance of trade between Iran and Iraq is 99 percent in favor of Iran.
Jahanbakhsh Sanjabi told ISNA that Iran exported about $4.160 billion worth of commodities to Iraq in the past Iranian year (ended March 20, 2011) and by taking into account the revenues from transit of goods and export of technical engineering services, energy and oil products, this figure reached $7.7 billion.
"It shows a 50 percent increase compared to the figure for the preceding year," he said.
The amount of goods exported to Iraq in the past year rose by 400 percent compared to that of 2003 while Iran's share in the Iraqi market remained the same during the period, he added.
Listing exports to Iraq into three categories, he said that food products constituted the major part of exports followed by construction material and industrial and home appliances.
"Currently Iran, Turkey and Syria are the three main exporters of goods to Iraq," he noted.
The official said that private and state-run sectors are expected to export $10 billion worth of goods to Iraq by the end of the current year, adding the figure is projected to hit $20 billion by the end of the Fifth Development Plan (2010-15).
Sanjabi stated that consumer goods accounts for 60 percent of the products which are currently exported to Iraq.
He noted that less than $100 million worth of goods are imported from Iraq annually.
In October, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced plans to boost non-oil exports to $60 billion by March 2013.
The president stated that Iran's exports will exceed $45 billion by the end of this year.
Trade between Iran and Iraq currently stands at $7 billion and the figure is expected to increase in the future, said roads and urban development minister on Wednesday.
Ali Nikzad further told the visiting Iraqi delegation headed by the country's Minister of Transportation Hadi Al-Ameri that Iran and Iraq share a large number of commonalities and this can help the two countries expand ties in fields of mutual interest, IRNA reported.
A long common border shared by the two countries has paved the way for further consolidation of bilateral ties, he noted.
Congratulating his Iraqi counterpart for the departure of US forces, Nikzad said the two sides should make efforts to provide each other's pilgrims with the best facilities.
He called for an increase in the number of flights between cities of the two neighboring countries, pointing out that using the capacity of land transportation fleet for transporting cargo and passenger between Iraq and Iraq is of great importance.
The minister noted rail transportation facilities of the two countries should also be used properly towards this end.
Thanks to efforts by Port and Shipping Organization of Iran and the Iraqi side, Khorramshahr Port, Khuzestan province and Umm Al-Qasr port in Iraq are expected to become sister cities in the future, he said.
Earlier in September, secretary general of Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce announced that balance of trade between Iran and Iraq is 99 percent in favor of Iran.
Jahanbakhsh Sanjabi told ISNA that Iran exported about $4.160 billion worth of commodities to Iraq in the past Iranian year (ended March 20, 2011) and by taking into account the revenues from transit of goods and export of technical engineering services, energy and oil products, this figure reached $7.7 billion.
"It shows a 50 percent increase compared to the figure for the preceding year," he said.
The amount of goods exported to Iraq in the past year rose by 400 percent compared to that of 2003 while Iran's share in the Iraqi market remained the same during the period, he added.
Listing exports to Iraq into three categories, he said that food products constituted the major part of exports followed by construction material and industrial and home appliances.
"Currently Iran, Turkey and Syria are the three main exporters of goods to Iraq," he noted.
The official said that private and state-run sectors are expected to export $10 billion worth of goods to Iraq by the end of the current year, adding the figure is projected to hit $20 billion by the end of the Fifth Development Plan (2010-15).
Sanjabi stated that consumer goods accounts for 60 percent of the products which are currently exported to Iraq.
He noted that less than $100 million worth of goods are imported from Iraq annually.
In October, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced plans to boost non-oil exports to $60 billion by March 2013.
The president stated that Iran's exports will exceed $45 billion by the end of this year.
© Iran Daily 2012
