TEHRAN - Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani here on Sunday said that the economic cooperation between Iran and Iraq provides a powerful stimulus for the regional states to set up a joint Islamic market.

“Cooperation between Iranian and Iraqi traders in banking, insurance, and bourse areas… can be a good example for the whole region and a stimulus for a joint regional Islamic market,” Rafsanjani told the first conference on Iraq’s reconstruction.
He expressed satisfaction over the establishment of the Iran-Iraq chamber of commerce, adding that strengthening commercial, industrial, and scientific cooperation can boost security in the region.
He underlined that the private sectors’ achievement in promoting commercial ties can win other countries’ confidence to set up a joint Islamic market in the Middle East.
Rafsanjani said there were extensive potential for cooperation between the two countries during the Pahlavi and Saddam regimes which were not utilized.
After the Islamic Revolution in 1979 the two neighboring countries were expected to deepen economic relations but the war imposed on Iran by the Iraqi Baath regime in 1980 ruined opportunities for enhancing bilateral ties, Rafsanjani explained.
He went on to say that expanding economic cooperation and sharing technical expertise require security in the region.
Iranian and Iraqi private sectors play a significant role in preparing the grounds for economic, technical, and scientific cooperation and also promoting security in the region, he observed.
Iran is prepared for a comprehensive cooperation with neighboring states and other countries, Rafsanjani said, adding that the Islamic Republic is ready to offer its valuable experiences in post-war reconstruction to the Iraqi nation.
Rafsanjani regretted the continued occupation of Iraq as the “most precious spot in the Islamic world” with privileged Islamic and historical background