Financial Tribune - The Export Guarantee Fund of Iran is stepping up efforts to promote non-oil exports to Iraq by offering lower premium rates and cheaper guarantee cover.

On the sidelines of a monthly meeting of the Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce, the EGFI chief Afrouz Bahrami said the fund�s fees�for export to Iraq is currently 1% which competes with rates quoted by foreign insurers.

�This encourages Iranian traders to expand their presence in Iraq,� IRIB News quoted her as saying.

In the past ten years the fund has provided close to $3.5 billion in export guarantees for trade with Iraq and has paid $113 million in compensation for losses during the period.