Iraq in Talks with Iran to Pay Overdue Debt for Gas Imports

Iranian and Iraqi officials discussed ways for Baghdad to pay back overdue debts to Iran for Gas Exports to Iraq.

The meeting was held between Governor of Iraq's Central Bank Mustafa Ghaleb Makhif and Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad Mohammad Kazem Al-e Sadegh on Monday to discuss various issues, including banking cooperation as well as paying back Iraq’s debt to Iran for gas imports.

During the meeting, the two sides exchanged their views regarding the dimensions of banking and economic cooperation between the two countries, payment of Iraqi debts to Iran for imports of energy and removal of barriers facing Iranian companies in Iraq.

Makhif, for his part, emphasized the interest of his country in developing and strengthening cooperation with Iran in the banking field.

Earlier, Iraqi Ministry of Electricity announced that it is negotiating with both government and Parliament of the country to remove barriers to paying back gas bills to Iran. Iraq heavily relies on gas imports from Iran to inject it into power plants. The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity is trying to import Iranian gas before a severe wave of heat in the current year. Spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity Ahmed Musa announced last month that Baghdad has reached an agreement with Tehran on export of Iranian gas to the Arab country. According to an order by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, it has been agreed that the amount of Iranian gas exports to Iraq will increase from the current 8 Mcm per day to 30 Mcm per day. Musa pointed out that the Iraqi government has reached an agreement with Iran to pay its energy debts over a three-year period that the country imported Iranian gas. - Fars