Shafaq News / A local official in Diyala revealed today, Sunday, an agreement between the Iraqi and Iranian government to allow 500 Iranian cargo trucks to pass through "Mandali" border crossing, eastern the province, on a weekly basis.

"An agreement between Iraq and Iran guarantees the entry of 500 Iranian trucks into Iraqi territory through the Mandali crossing, 95 km east of Baquba, two days each week, at an average of 250 trucks per day", the director of Mandali region, Mazen al-Khuzai, told Shafaq News agency.

Al-Khuzai warned of, "poor preventive measures against the Coronavirus (Covid-19) at the outlet", indicating, "the need to adopt a strict health plan", while stressing the importance of, "reviving the economy and employing thousands of workers at the port".

It is noteworthy that Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi visited Mandali crossing yesterday and instructed partially opening it to trade exchange operations between Iraq and Iran. This comes after the Iraqi government had decided last March to close all border crossings to prevent the transmission of Covid-19 to Iraq.

Semi-official statistics confirm that the volume of trade exchange between Iraq and Iran through border crossings exceeds 12 billion dollars annually.