Iran and Iraq could raise their annual bilateral trade to 20 billion US dollars from the current level of 12 billion US dollars despite concerns over the economic impact of renewed US sanctions.

The remarks were made in a meeting between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his visiting Iraqi counterpart Barham Salih.

“Through bilateral efforts, we can raise this figure (for bilateral trade) to 20 billion US dollars in the near future,” Rouhani said in comments broadcast live on Iranian state television.

“We held talks on trade in electricity, gas, petroleum products and activities ... in the field of oil exploration and extraction,” Rouhani said.

“It will be important to create free trade zones at our shared border and to connect the two countries' railways,” Salih said.

Iraq imports a wide range of goods from Iran, including food, agricultural products, home appliances, air conditioners and spare car parts. The goods element of Iranian imports to Iraq was worth about six billion US dollars in the 12 months ending March 2018, or about 15 percent of Iraq's total imports for 2017.

Energy contracts also contribute to the total volume of bilateral trade.