Office for Commercial and Economic Affairs, Erbil
Stanislav Nokov
Royal city, Block B-8
7th Floor, Apt. 15
Erbil
Kurdistan Region, Iraq
mob: +964 7515363818
e-mail: s.nokov@mi.government.bg.
https://www.facebook.com/%D0%A1%D0%A2%D0%98%D0%92-%D0%98%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BA-1277915782288510/
https://twitter.com/STIV_Iraq
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dimityr-ugrinov-2314b113b/
Head of Department “Asia, Africa, America and Australia”
Adelina Kyoseva
12 “Knyaz Alexander I” st.
phone: +359 2 940 7688
a.kioseva@mi.government.bg
Referent for Iraq
Mehmed Myuhtar
12 “Knyaz Alexander I” St.,
phone: +359 2 940 76 52
m.myuhtar@mi.government.bg
I. Trade and economic relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and Iraq
III. Sectoral analysis:
1. Requirements, procedures and registration regime for import in cosmetic goods in Iraq:
I. Trade and economic relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Iraq
Until 1989, Iraq was the main foreign trade partner of our country, as the trade in 1988 reached 813 million USD. e. (export 394 million USD).
The regulatory body for bilateral trade and economic relations was the Joint Intergovernmental Commission for Economic, Trade and Technical Cooperation.
1. Bilateral Trade:
Until 1989, the main form of trade and economic relations between the two countries was bilateral trade. In recent years, the volume of bilateral trade has been as follows:
in million USD
| Years | Year Trade (USD milion) | growth/decline,% | export | growth/decline,% | import | growth/decline,% | balance |
| 2017 | 68.8 | 67.7 | 39.5 | -3.7 | 29.3 | 146400.0 | 10.2 |
| 2018 | 109.4 | 59.0 | 40.1 | 1.5 | 69.3 | 136.5 | -29.2 |
| 2019 | 85.8 | -21.6 | 53.5 | 33.4 | 32.3 | -53.4 | 21.2 |
| 2020 | 41.121 | -52.1 | 41.1 | -23.2 | 0.021 | -99.9 | 41.079 |
| 2021 | 173.3 | 321.4 | 51.3 | 24.8 | 122 | 580852.4 | -70.7 |
| I-VI 2022 | 144.14 | 32.7 | 32.4 | 21.1 | 111.74 | 36.4 | -79.34 |
Our trade with Iraq for the first six months of 2022. amounted to 144.14 million USD (a growth of 32% compared to the same period of 2021) of which exports amounted to 32.4 million USD (a growth of 21.1% compared to the same period of 2021 .) , and imports also increased and reached 111.74 million. USD or a growth of 36% compared to 2021.
Our trade with Iraq for the whole of 2021. amounted to 173.3 million USD (a growth of 320% compared to 2020) of which exports were 51.3 million USD (a growth of 24% compared to 2020), and imports marked an exceptional growth and reached 122 dear USD or a growth of 580% compared to 2020.
Our exports to Iraq mainly consist of: bird eggs; medicines; Food; pastry; sheets, foils, tapes, plates, etc. of plastic; wadding and textile materials; cosmetics; boards, consoles, counters; medical, surgical instruments, X-ray machines, diagnostic equipment, etc.
The import consists of Electric accumulators, including their separators, whether or not square or rectangular in shape; Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, other than crude; products not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70% or more of petroleum oils or oils of bituminous minerals, of which these products are the main component, Tractors (excluding tractors of N 8709)
For comparison with 2021, our trade with Iraq for 2020 amounted to 41.12 million USD. of which export 41.1 million USD, import 0.021 million USD, ., marking a decrease of 52.3% compared to the same period of 2019.
Main commodities in our exports in 2020 – poultry eggs in shell, fresh, canned or boiled; medicines; bakery and pasta products; kraft papers and kraft boards; machines and devices for harvesting or threshing agricultural crops, straw and fodder presses; lawn mowers and haymakers; machines for cleaning or sorting eggs; medical, surgical, dental or veterinary instruments and apparatus; cosmetics; electrical distribution control panels and consoles; electrical transformers; pharmaceutical preparations and articles, etc.
Imports from Iraq in 2020 amounted to 0.021 million USD, mainly bakery and confectionery products; electric apparatus for wire telephony or telegraphy.
Our trade with Iraq for 2019 amounted to US$85.8 million, a decrease of 27.6.2% compared to 2018, mainly due to a decrease in Iraq’s imports of crude petroleum oils and bituminous minerals.
Our exports to Iraq in 2019 amounted to 53.5 million USD. with an increase of 19.2% compared to 2018. Consists mainly of corn, bird eggs; power generating units; kraft papers and kraft boards; bakery, pasta products; medication in retail doses; medical, surgical, dental or veterinary instruments and apparatus; instruments and apparatus for physical or chemical analysis; perfumery products; cheeses and curds: trays, panels, consoles, counters, cabinets, etc.;
Our imports from Iraq in 2019 amounted to 32.3 million USD, mainly raw materials petroleum oils and bituminous minerals.
Our trade with Iraq in 2018 amounted to 109.4 million USD.
Our exports amounted to 40.1 million USD. and consists mainly of corn, pasta, poultry, eggs, foodstuffs, kraft paperboards, medicines, etc., imports amounted to 69.3 million USD. and is mainly from crude petroleum oils, bituminous minerals.
3. Investments
According to BNB data for the period 2014-2021. Annual data; Net foreign investments in Bulgaria; Position at the end of the period; Total financial assets/liabilities;
| Yеаrs | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| Iraq | -2,2 | 5,7 | -1,4 | -2,6 | 2,7 | 2,1 | -4,8 | -0,3 |
5. Intergovernmental Commission
The last 25th session of the Bulgarian-Iraqi Joint Committee for Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation was held in Sofia on November 28-29, 2013. The Bulgarian delegation was led by the Minister of Economy and Energy Mr. Dragomir Stoynev. The head of the Iraqi delegation was the Minister of Industry and Minerals, Mr. Ahmed Nasser Deli.
During the session, Mr. Deli and Mr. Babakr, Minister of Trade of the Republic of Iraq, held meetings with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mr. Plamen Oresharski, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Mihail Mikov, and with Mr. Danail Papazov, Minister of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications.
As a result of the session and the bilateral meetings of the two Iraqi ministers, it was agreed to hold a bilateral Bulgarian-Iraqi business forum.
During the session of the mixed commission, an Agreement on Economic and Scientific Cooperation was signed between the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Government of the Republic of Iraq. The agreement is of a framework nature, and through it both parties declare their desire to create even more favorable conditions for the development of Bulgarian-Iraqi economic cooperation. The following areas of close cooperation and exchange of information are identified in the Agreement: mechanical engineering, mining industry; metallurgy, manufacturing, electronics and electrical engineering, chemical and oil refining, agriculture and forestry, energy, research and development, construction and construction, telecommunications, computing and informatics, transport and logistics, tourism, investment promotion , cooperation in the field of small and medium-sized enterprises, quality management and standardization, etc.
As a result of the agreements between the two countries during the session of the intergovernmental commission, in the period March 10-11, 2014, the first Bulgarian-Iraqi bilateral business forum was held in Bulgaria. The business forum was attended by 18 representatives of Iraqi business in the following fields: construction, energy, pharmaceuticals, tourism, engineering, electronics, automotive, food industry, etc. On the Bulgarian side, the forum was organized by SME-agency with the participation of 113 Bulgarian companies