TEHRAN – Officials from Iran and Iraq stressed the need to bolster cooperation in the fields of trade and industry as well as completion of the construction operation of the Shalamcheh-Basra railway.
In a meeting between Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Seyed Ehsan Khandouzi and Adviser to the Iraqi Prime Minister Hazim Majid Naj al-Khaledi, held in Tehran on Sunday, the two sides discussed issues pertinent to the cooperation of the two countries for setting up joint industrial areas and also completion of construction operation of the Shalamcheh-Basra railway.
Despite propaganda and obstacles waged by ill-wishers, relations between Iran and Iraq are on an upward trajectory thanks to the determination of the administration of President Ebrahim Raisi and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani, Khandouzi emphasized.
It is high time that officials of the two countries should roll up their sleeves to forge deeper links in various trade and economic fields, he continued.
Very constructive talks were held between the two countries on the sidelines of the Iran-Iraq Joint Economic Commission, he said, adding that his ministry and other ministries are seeking to operationalize the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) inked between the two countries.
The adviser to the Iraqi prime minister, for his part, said that the two countries share many commonalities in all political, historical, religious and cultural fields.
Since the first visit of high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Iraq in the Al Sudani administration, effective measures have been taken for the operationalization of agreements inked between the two countries, al-Khaledi added.