VP: Iran, Iraq to Set Up Joint Bank Soon

(FNA)- Tehran and Baghdad are planning to establish a joint bank to facilitate trade transactions and money transferring between the two sides, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Shariatmadari announced on Tuesday.

"The Iran-Iraq bank will be established with the help of private sector," Shariatmadari said, addressing the First Iran-Iraq International Conference in Tehran today.

He reiterated that Iran and Iraq have strategic relations, and said, "The two countries' ties have moved on an upward trend since the coming to power of the Islamic government in Iraq to the extent that the volume of Iran-Iraq trade balance has increased by more than 20 times, while there is still a capacity for increasing their trade balance to $30 million."

Last month, Head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran Valiollah Afkhamirad announced that Iran and Iraq have signed a trade protocol for the promotion of cooperation between the two countries.

"This protocol has 15 paragraphs and it has been signed to facilitate trade transactions between Iran and Iraq," told FNA at the time.

He pointed to the recent visit of Iraqi Trade Minister Mohammed Abdul Karim to Iran and his meetings with senior Iranian officials, and said, "The Iraqi minister discussed the problems facing Iranian businessmen for exporting their goods to Iraq."

The TPO chief, meantime, pointed to the recent visit of Qatari Economy Minister Abdullah bin Jassim al-Thani to Iran and said, "The Iranian and Qatari officials discussed facilitating expansion of trade exchanges between the two countries' businessmen."

Iran and Iraq have enjoyed growing ties ever since the overthrow of the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, during the 2003 US invasion of the Muslim country.