TEHRAN, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Iran has signed with Iraq a contract worth 4 billion U.S. dollars to provide technological and engineering services to the Arab country, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday.
The contract can help cover some of the shortfall in Iran's exports to Iraq in the fiscal year ending on March 20, especially in the areas of manufacturing, technological and engineering services, and medical services, Tasnim quoted Hamid Hosseini, the head of the board of directors of the Iranian Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical Products Exporters' Association, as saying.
Hosseini also noted that Iran's exports to Iraq during the past eight months saw a 1.4-billion-dollar decline year on year.
Iran's exports to its neighbor are expected to increase in the next four months and will go back to the normal level, he said.
Around 45 percent of Iraq's electricity is generated by natural gas imported from Iran.
While the United States has imposed sanctions on Iran to bar other countries from buying Iranian oil and gas, Iraq has received exemptions from Washington to import Iran's gas. ■
