Strong Presence of Iran’s Printing and Packaging Industry at Iraq’s Agrofood Exhibition

Abbas Zare, in an interview with a correspondent from the Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), referring to the extensive presence of Iran’s printing and packaging activists at the Erbil Agrofood Exhibition in Iraq, said: “This year, 31 companies from Iran’s printing and packaging sector participated in this exhibition, and fortunately, we witnessed a very enthusiastic and effective presence.”

He continued: “During the visits, we conversed with Iranian units and, while reviewing their activities, also identified the problems and challenges of this industry. The significant presence of Iranian companies was one of the highlights of this edition of the exhibition.”

The Director-General of the Office of Printing Affairs then referred to the status of printing exchanges between Iran and Iraq, stating: “Iran and Iraq have a very good relationship in the printing industry. The noteworthy point is that the volume of imports and exports of printed products between the two countries has almost reached a parity. In the first seven months of this year, we exported 26 types of printed products to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, totaling about 33 million items with a value of 2,570 billion Tomans. The majority of these exports include packaging wraps and cardboard boxes.”

He added: “During the same period, we had 2,539 billion Tomans of imports from Iraq, almost all of which was related to printed aluminum cans.”

Zare also explained about his meeting with officials from the Iraqi Ministry of Culture and Youth: “During this trip, a very constructive meeting was held with officials from the Ministry of Culture and Youth of the Kurdistan Region. I, along with Mr. Eskandari, the Deputy Consul of Iran in the region, participated in this meeting. We spoke about cultural commonalities, and suggestions for developing cooperation were put forward.”

He added: “In this meeting, we suggested to the Iraqi side that we have joint cooperation in the fields of printing exquisite books, printing the Quran, producing IML wraps and labels, as well as boxes and packaging. Fortunately, they also expressed their satisfaction with the quality of Iranian printing.”

Zare also considered one of the most important results of this meeting to be the Iraqi side’s proposal regarding holding a joint cultural week, stating: “Our friends in the Kurdistan Region showed great interest in holding a joint cultural week with Iran. They also emphasized that they want to strengthen the presence of Iranian publishers at the Erbil Book Fair. Iranian publishers have a good presence in Sulaymaniyah but have been weaker in Erbil, and it was decided that this situation would improve with the support of the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Culture, which will be provided in writing.”

He emphasized: “It was decided that operational cooperation would be formed between the two sides in areas such as printing textbooks, packaging, and other related sectors.”

The Director-General of the Printing Office, referring to the capabilities of the Iraqi side, continued: “According to the information they provided, the Kurdistan Region has 390 printing houses and 97 active libraries. Some of the books and printed products are printed in Iran, and they are very satisfied with the quality of Iranian printed products.”