BAGHDAD, March 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Iraqi government signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Iran in various fields during the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
The MoUs covered fields of oil, trade, health, transport as well as issuing visas and other facilities for businessmen and investors, said a statement from the media office of Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.
On transport, railways will be established between Iraq’s southern city of Basra and the Shalamjah border crossing with Iran, according to the statement.
At a joint press conference, Abdul Mahdi said Rouhani’s “historic” visit will “move forward the relations between Iraq and Iran for the better.”
“The two sides discussed various issues in political, security and economic arenas,” the Iraqi prime minister added.
For his part, Rouhani expressed Iran’s willingness to develop security relations with Iraq, especially in the fight against terrorism.
“From the beginning, we stood by Iraq and provided assistance to Iraq in its war on terror,” the Iranian president said.
Earlier, Abdul Mahdi discussed with Rouhani and his delegation “cooperation in combating terrorism and promoting security and stability efforts,” according to a previous statement by Abdul Mahdi’s office.
They also discussed cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, as well as oil, reconstruction, investment, industrial zones and border crossings, the statement said.
Rouhani arrived in Baghdad on a three-day official visit on Monday, heading a delegation of officials and businessmen to discuss promotion of bilateral relations and regional developments.
Rouhani held a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Barham Salih, who told a joint press conference after an official reception that further cooperation is needed for common security of Iraq, Iran and other countries in the Middle East.
“We want to create a system built on common economic interests among the peoples of the region to get rid of conflicts that engulfed the region,” Salih said.
The Iraqi president also expressed thanks to Iran on its support to Iraq in its fight against the Islamic State (IS) militant group.
“The victory against terrorism is not complete and the countries of the region must cooperate to achieve that,” he stressed.
For his part, Rouhani said Iraq can play an important role in solving the problems of the Middle East region, asserting that the two countries can boost cooperation in various fields.
Rouhani’s visit comes as the United States has been exerting sanctions on Iran’s oil industry and its banking and transport sectors, after Washington pulled out from the 2015 nuclear deal last May. — NNN-XINHUA
