April 4,�The Iran Project � An Iranian trade official has announced that Iran will launch a trade center in Iraqi capital of ??Baghdad with the participation of public and private sectors in the near future.

Speaking to a reporter on Tuesday, Jahanbakhsh Sanjabi Shirazi�a member of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce said public and private sectors of Iran-Iraq�s economy have already looked to set up a trade center for the development of economic and business relations.

He referred to the security issues in Iraq as one of the main reasons that the two countries could not launch the center, adding but fortunately Iran and Iraq�s public and private centers and their Joint Chamber of Commerce have agreed to open the center in the first half of this year.

So far, much of the trade between Iran and Iraq have been carried out in the form of suitcase trade but with the launch of the commercial center, the two countries� economic ties will be greatly developed, he said.

Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani previously pointed out that Tehran and Baghdad have numerous opportunities to boost their trade and commercial relations and said the removal of banking restrictions, facilitation of trade exchanges between private firms, and lifting of visa requirements�for Iranian and Iraqi�pilgrims�can help bolster cooperation between the two sides.