Iraq-Russia trade reaches $1.4 billion per year: Envoy
The trade between Iraq and Russia has increased by 52 percent to $1.4 billion a year over the past 24 months, said an Iraqi official on Friday.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Trade between Iraq and Russia has increased by 52 percent in the past two years to $1.4 billion annually, said an Iraqi official on Friday.
“Our relations with Russia are very good, both old and current [relations], they continue. Russian-Iraqi trade has increased by 52 percent from $900 million to $1.4 billion over the past two years,” Iraqi Ambassador to Russia Haidar Mansour Hadi told Sputnik.
The envoy mentioned that Baghdad and Moscow would continue their joint efforts on growing trade and cooperation in different sectors, including energy.
He noted that Russian companies are trying to enter and invest in the Iraqi market and that his embassy in Moscow would facilitate such activity.
Over the past few years, the US has been one of the major allies of Iraq, namely in the fight against the Islamic State (IS). According to Hadi, this has not prevented Baghdad from working with other major powers in various fields, including military cooperation.
“There are [Russian-Iraqi] military equipment contracts, and they are being implemented … Iraq is open for everyone,” the Iraqi ambassador added.
Moscow and Baghdad continue to strengthen bilateral ties, namely in the energy sector, in which the two nations have multiple joint projects. Russian-state owned and private energy firms like Gazprom, Rosneft, and Lukoil are heavily engaged with Baghdad to invest in the country.
Such companies are also cooperating with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq, namely Rosneft.
Editing by John J. Catherine