Secretary General of Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce Seyed Hamid Hosseini said that Iran’s exports to neighboring Iraq has increased 45 percent in the first half of the current year (March 21 - Sept. 21).
He added that if the trend continues, it is predicted that Iraq would become the Islamic Republic's first export destination.
Iraq's vast joint borders with the Islamic Republic of Iran along with cultural commonalities, as well as joint border marketplaces, show the significance of paying due attention to expansion of trade and business ties between the two countries, he added.
According to statistics, he said, the value of exports to Iraq in the six-month period amounted to over $4.5 billion.
He maintained that Iraq could replace China as Iran's first export destination, given the fact that the value of exports to China stands at $4.6 billion in the same period, which shows that exports to Iraq is only $100 million behind.
MA/83067461