Iran, Iraq sign agreement on payment mechanism

Signatories to the deal, which was inked in Baghdad, were Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnasser Hemmati and his Iraqi counterpart Ali Mohsen Al-Allaq.

The deal focuses on a new mechanism on facilitating the repayment of Iraq’s electricity and gas dues to Iran and paving the way for the businesses of the two countries to conduct their mutual transactions. No further details about the mechanism are revealed yet.

Hemmati is also scheduled to hold talks with a number of senior political and economic officials in the Arab country, during his two-day stay.

Upon his arrival in Baghdad, the CBI governor said, “given the positive view of the both sides, I hope we will have good negotiations to advance the two countries’ interests.”

Pointing to the significance of the Iraqi market for Iranian traders, Hemmati stressed that the two sides will put all-out efforts to overcome shortcomings in financial transactions, which have created some hurdles for Iranian exporters.

Iraq is now the second top destination of Iran’s non-oil exports. According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, Iran exported goods worth over $7.5 billion to Iraq during the past 10 months of the current fiscal (through Jan. 20), indicating a 45% rise in comparison to the similar period of last year.

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