TEHRAN- According to a report released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Iraq was the second top destination of Iran’s non-oil products in the past Iranian calendar year 1404 (ended on March 20).

In late May 2024, the head of the Department of Spatial Planning and Regional Planning of the Iranian Planning and Budget Organization (PBO) said that Iran exports some 2,200 products, valued at $12 billion, to neighboring Iraq annually.

Speaking in a meeting entitled “Reviewing opportunities and challenges of attracting Iraqi investors and strengthening trade relations between the two countries in line with demarcating Iran in the regional value chain”, Jafar Hosseini said that Iraq, benefiting from $85 billion foreign currency reserves, 130 tons of gold reserves, and 147 billion barrels of proven reserves of crude oil, is among the richest countries in West Asia.

Currently, Iran exports over 2,200 various types of goods and products to Iraq, he said, adding that more than half of the active Iranian traders are present in the Iraqi market.
Developing the trade infrastructures to facilitate trade between the two countries, encouraging traders to invest in Iraq, promoting trade through dispatching and admitting trade delegations and participating in exhibitions of the two countries, etc. are suggested to strengthen the trade and economic relations between Iran and Iraq, he underlined.

In an interview in last December, the ambassador of Iran in Iraq praised the economic relations between the two sides and expressed hope that these relations will be more and better.

Mohammad Kazem Ale-Sadeq announced the value of commercial exchanges between the two countries, and stated that economic relations between Iran and Iraq are very good, and expressed hope that these relations will improve.

The envoy further noted: “Iraq is an important country in the region, and we have very important economic, political, and social relations with this neighbor.”

In early May 2024, Tehran hosted the 6th meeting of the Iran-Iraq Joint Economic Committee.

The two-day event was co-chaired by the former Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ehsan Khandouzi and Iraqi Minister of Commerce Atheer Daoud Al-Ghurairi.

On the first day of the meeting, specialized committees including commercial, industrial, agricultural, standardization and quality control, energy, finance, banking, investment and Insurance, shipping, transport, and Customs, scientific, educational, tourism, health, as well as sports consulate held meetings to discuss areas for cooperation.

Increasing non-oil exports to the neighboring countries is one of the major plans that the Iranian government has been pursuing in recent years.

Iran shares land or water borders with 15 countries namely the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Saudi Arabia.

Also, as previously announced by the head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture said that $128 million worth of technical and engineering services were exported to Iraq in the first half of the past Iranian calendar year (March 21-September 22, 2025).

Yahya Ale-Eshaq stated that an annual export of $300 to $400 million in technical and engineering services is not a good statistic; this capacity must be increased.

He continued: If Iraq's capacities in the technical and engineering sector are not utilized, other competitors will enter this market.

The head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture further said: Iraq is the second destination for Iran's exports after China and added: The Prime Minister of Iraq has announced that Iraq has implemented a total of about 88 engineering projects. According to this report, Iraq has utilized about $100 billion of its own resources as well as foreign investments in these projects.

Ale-Eshaq continued: “In this field, knowledge and technical expertise play an important role, and there are many opportunities for development and activity in this area.”

Emphasizing that 70 percent of services in Iraq are imported, he said: “Technical knowledge and engineering services are areas with high potential, and we hope these capacities will be utilized.”

The head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture stated that a memorandum of understanding with the Iranian Association of Oil Industry Equipment Manufacturers in the field of technical and engineering services is being signed to facilitate progress in this area.

MA