Iranian Central Bank Governor Hemmati met with Iraqi Prime Minister Jaroslav Hemmati in Baghdad on Monday. Iran's Tasnim News Agency disclosed some details of the talks. The agency quoted the chairman of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce as saying that some of the discussions between the Iranian Central Bank governor and the Iraqi side concerned Iran's claims on Iraq and how to facilitate the use of Iranian foreign exchange funds currently held in Iraq. Both sides worked to explore solutions to this issue and facilitate access to these funds for Iranian economic actors. It is understood that Iran's current claims on Iraq amount to approximately $12 billion, although this figure varies depending on trade and payment activity at different times. Trade between Iran and Iraq continues to expand. This year, excluding energy, oil, and gas trade, bilateral trade has increased by about 15%. Given the existing potential, bilateral trade is expected to reach around $20 billion.
