TEHRAN – Iranian Deputy
Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari has said the country’s small pharmaceutical companies are ready to enter into good cooperation deals with Iraq’s Basra Province.
Safari held talks with the governor of Basra during a visit to the Iraqi province over increasing trade exchanges with Iraq through the border crossing of Shalamcheh, connecting the Khorramshahr railway to Basra and granting different technical and engineering projects to Iranian companies.
He pointed to Iran’s capabilities and huge potential in the production of medicines using new technologies. He underlined that small pharmaceutical companies of Iran are ready to enter into good cooperation deals with Iraq’s Basra Province, especially in fighting cancer. Safari said, “We propose that this cooperation would take place in free zones so that facilities existing in these zones and medicine exports to other countries are used.”
Safari, in another part of his trip to Basra, took part in a symposium along with businesspeople and trade organizations in the three southern provinces of Basra, Maysan and Dhiqar. In this event, he referred to the strategic relations between Iran and Iraq, which he called two brotherly countries. The deputy foreign minister said it’s the administration of President Ebrahim Raisi’s policy to give priority to establishing economic and trade relations with neighboring countries. And among Iran’s neighbors, the friendly and brotherly country of Iraq is the top priority.
He noted that Iran plans to look into issues and problems hampering trade and export ties due to constant changes in the laws and regulations of the two countries and that Tehran seeks to consult with Baghdad to find appropriate and lasting solutions to resolve those problems, the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website reported.
The Iranian deputy foreign minister added that in trade and exports, the issue of road, air, railway and sea transportation is of high importance.
It should be noted that in this meeting, the two sides decided that investors who want to build manufacturing and industrial units in Iraq’s industrial zones should be invited to visit Iran’s infrastructure and its capabilities to build industrial zones with the aim of entering into joint ventures.
Safari also visited Basra University where he took part in a gathering entitled “Seminar of Studying Strategies of Expanding Economic Ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq.”
At the seminar, he outlined the progress of Iranian knowledge-based companies in different fields. Safari further said Iran is ready to share its experiences with Iraq and proposed the establishment of joint manufacturing units to meet the needs of both countries and to also export goods to other nations.
In addition to a selected group of university professors, some students attended the meeting where they asked Safari questions to which he responded.
In the last part of the trip to Iraq, the Iranian deputy foreign minister met with Iranian companies operating in Basra Province’s different technical and engineering projects.
In the meeting, the companies referred to progress trends in the projects that are underway and explained their problems. Safari offered some answers and solutions to overcome those problems.