Iran hopes to create first joint free trade zone with Iraq

Shafaq News / Hojatollah Abdul Maliki, secretary of the Supreme Council of Free Zones of the Islamic Republic of Iran and advisor to the president of the republic, declared on Friday that conditions are favorable for the creation of the first joint free trade zone between Iran and Iraq.

Abdul Maliki stated to the official Iranian news agency "IRNA", that "recently, Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani took into account the other side of the border of Mehran in Wasit governorate to establish a joint free zone between the two countries, regarding which studies are currently underway."

He also expressed hope that the first Iran-Iraq joint free trade zone would be operational by the end of the year.