MNA – Iran’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Farhad Dejpasand said Iranian traders will be provided with plenty of incentives to expand their presence in the Iraqi market.

Dejpasand made the remark after a joint meeting with Iraqi ministers of planning and finance in Tehran on Saturday, adding “at present, the volume of trade between Tehran and Baghdad stands at 8 billion euros, and we have plans to hopefully increase the current volume as soon as possible.”

“During the meeting with the two Iraqi ministers, we conferred on customs issues, facilitating business activities, the need for insurance, and joint ventures between the two countries,” he added.

Iraq is Iran's second largest trade partner, said Dejpasand, adding however that the volume of trade and economic transactions between the two countries is not desirable given the countries’ backgrounds, histories and cultures.

The Iraqi minister of planning, for his part, said the presence of nine ministers and a large number of Iraqi businessmen who have accompanied the Iraqi prime minister on this trip to Tehran reflects the interest of Baghdad in increasing the level of trade and economic exchanges with the neighboring country.

The Iraqi minister of fiance also said that he would discuss with Iranian authorities the barriers and problems that exist for the development of trade transactions between the two sides.