Tehran : China and Iraq are the main trading partners of Iran, said the head of the Iranian Customs Directorate, Mehdi Mirashrafi.
He noted that China and Iraq imported non-oil goods from Iran in the amount of $8.3 billion and $8.2 billion respectively.
Iranian exports of oil and non-oil products reached $ 40 billion in the first 11 months of the current 1,397 fiscal year, Mirashrafi said, adding that China and Iraq were the main destinations for Iranian goods, Fars News reported.
During his visit to the port of Bandar-e-Imam Khomeini, in Khuzestan province on March 4, an Iranian official told reporters that Khuzestan has a sea and land border with Iraq, and visiting the customs centers of the region is one of the goals of his visit.
“The trip in Khuzestan is intended for infrastructure development so that Khuzestan can increase its share in maritime and border trading with Iraq,” he said.
In late December, the Iranian Trade Promotion Organization announced that Iraq, China and the United Arab Emirates were respectively the three main points of Iran’s external trade flow in the first eight months of the current Iranian year (launched March 21, 2018).
It was noted that the country’s exports to Azerbaijan recorded an increase of 50 percent over the same period.
Iran has sufficient financial resources and high solvency, although the damage caused to the economy by the global fall in oil prices and lengthy sanctions in the field of finance has been significant.
The disconnection of Iranian banks from the SWIFT system in March 2012 led to a sharp decline in foreign exchange earnings. In fact, the funds of Iranian oil importers remained in their accounts and, accordingly, could be used by Iran only for the purchase of products in the importing countries.
On the other hand, the current situation had a positive side, since it led to an increase in trade with these states.
The main industries of Iran are oil (including extraction and primary processing of oil and gas), processing (including petrochemicals) and mining.
The relations of Iraq and Iran have now reached a qualitatively new level which has prepared the ground for strategic cooperation in the field of defense and security.
Bilateral cooperation between Iran and China is comprehensive and encompasses political, economic, social and other areas, and both sides are in favor of expanding bilateral cooperation.
