Pezeshkian responded by affirming Iran’s readiness to strengthen bilateral ties and improve coordination on mutual interests…reports Asian Lite News
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in Baghdad for his first official foreign visit since taking office in July.
During his visit, Pezeshkian on Wednesday met with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, who expressed his country’s intent to enhance bilateral cooperation on counterterrorism, border security, and efforts to ease regional tensions, according to a statement from the Iraqi Presidency.
Pezeshkian responded by affirming Iran’s readiness to strengthen bilateral ties and improve coordination on mutual interests, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the statement.
The Iranian President also held discussions with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, during which 14 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed. These agreements cover various sectors, including the economy, training, youth and sports, cultural and educational exchanges, media, communications, free zones, agriculture, natural resources, social security, and chambers of commerce, according to al-Sudani’s media office on the social media platform X.
Before the signing ceremony, al-Sudani and Pezeshkian discussed bilateral cooperation on border security and other issues, the statement noted.
Pezeshkian emphasised the importance of the deep bilateral relationship and its impact on regional stability. Both leaders condemned Israel’s “ongoing aggression” in the Gaza Strip, warned of potential threats to regional security and stability, and called for efforts to halt what they described as Israeli “genocide” against Palestinians.
Following the signing ceremony, al-Sudani and Pezeshkian held a joint press conference, where al-Sudani stated that the MoUs would “form a roadmap” for bolstering bilateral cooperation.
Pezeshkian affirmed Iran’s desire for “a strong, stable, secure, independent, and peaceful Iraq” and expressed confidence in building robust relations between the two nations.
The Iranian President’s visit also includes trips to the provinces of Basra, Karbala, and Najaf, as well as Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
Vows to remove trade obstacles
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has underlined the need for forming a special working group and designing a long-term plan to remove the hurdles on the way of trade exchanges between Iran and Iraq.
Pezeshkian made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian businesspeople active in the Arab country on Wednesday.
“We have come to Baghdad to facilitate things for Iranian merchants, businesspeople and investors in Iraq,” he said.
Pezeshkian added that he had “positive” talks earlier in the day with the Iraqi prime minister on bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA), who was also present at the meeting, said that trade cooperation with Iraq have to move towards further investments.
Putting the current level of trade between Iran and Iraq at $12 billion, Samad Hassanzadeh said that the figure can be increased to $20 billion.
He noted that Iran can make investment in different Iraqi sectors including, agriculture, petrochemicals, plastic, glass, shoes and clothes.
Iran’s ambassador to Iraq Mohammad Kazem Al-e-Sadeq also addressed the meeting, referring to Iraq as a key trade partner of Iran.
He said that Iran’s oil exports to Iraq account for some 20% of the total trade exchanges between the two nations.
The ambassador invited the Iranian businesspeople to make investment in Iraq, noting that the country has good potential for investment.
A number of Iranian economic operators present at the meeting also talked about the problems impeding the increase of trade exchanges and investment in Iraq.
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