Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Friday called for a “clear roadmap” to expand trade with Iraq and reduce reliance on the US dollar by using national currencies in bilateral transactions, according to IRNA News Agency.

Speaking at a meeting of Iranian and Iraqi business representatives at the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, Ghalibaf described some obstacles facing the private sector in both countries as deep-rooted, revealing plans for a broader meeting in Tehran with officials from Iran’s Chamber of Commerce to address them based on a practical list of priorities.

On bilateral trade, Ghalibaf, who arrived in the Iraqi capital on Wednesday, argued that the two countries should move away from the US dollar in favor of their national currencies. “The era of American dominance over the world is over,” he said, adding that available opportunities had not been adequately utilized and that trade continued to rely on “old methods.”

Read more: Two powers, one grid: The geopolitical siege of Iraq’s economy

He also pointed to maritime access and skilled human resources in the Iran-Iraq border regions as assets that could be better utilized.

Turning to regional geopolitics, the official described the route extending from Iran and Iraq to the Mediterranean through the Iran-aligned “Axis of Resistance,” a network that includes armed factions in Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen, as “the heart of the geopolitical sphere and a key component of power and independence.”