Iraqi official says yearly trade with Iran will reach $20 billion
Iraq’s ambassador to Iran said on Tuesday that the two neighboring nations would be raising the volume of bilateral trade to $20 billion annually, a semi-official Iranian media outlet reported.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq’s ambassador to Iran said on Tuesday that the two neighboring nations would be raising the volume of bilateral trade to $20 billion annually, according to a semi-official Iranian media outlet.
The comments of Ambassador Jawad Saad Qandil came during a meeting with Tehran’s governor. Qandil explained that current economic exchange levels are at $12 billion per year and that both Iranian and Iraqi officials have put forth ideas to increase it by $8 billion, Fars news reported.
Aside from economic cooperation, the Iraqi government also has strong political and cultural ties with Iran, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani having called for the trade expansion on multiple occasions during official state visits by top Iraqi politicians as well.
Iraq is also a major tourist attraction for Iranians, especially as Shia Muslims visit to participate in religious pilgrimages and precessions, the most popular being the ceremony of Arbaeen that occurred in October.
The Iraqi ambassador estimated that six million Iranians visit Iraq every year while three million Iraqis go to Iran. Qandil also claimed that 3.5 million Iranian had attended the Arbaeen observance, although earlier estimates were lower.
Related Article: Iraq receives almost 2 million pilgrims from Iran for Arbaeen, less than previous years
During this year’s ceremony, the number appears to have decreased due to general unrest across many parts of Iraq as anti-government protests raged. The situation has escalated further amid ongoing protests and a US standoff with Iranian proxy militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
On Tuesday afternoon, thousands of PMF supporters marched toward the sprawling American embassy compound in Baghdad to condemn the US airstrikes.
Read More: Iraqi protesters attempt to storm US Embassy in Baghdad in retaliation for airstrikes
A Kurdistan correspondent 24 in Baghdad reported that protesters threw stones at the US embassy gate, while others burned tires around the wall of the compound. Photos showed a glass door separating militia supporters from American soldiers inside the facility.
Editing by John J. Catherine