At a meeting of the Iran-Iraq High Joint Commission in Baghdad on Monday, which was attended by First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, ten memorandums of understanding on bilateral cooperation were singed.
The MoUs were about cooperation on rail, road and air transportation, tourism, trade, agriculture and the issue of dust storms, among other areas. Jahangiri said at the meeting, "Backing Iraq's national unity and territorial integrity is among the principled policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Referring to the victories achieved by the Iraqi government in the battle against the self-declared Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, he expressed hope that the process of mopping up IS terrorists from Iraqi territory would continue.
Jahangiri also said, "The new Iraqi government was formed in a friendly atmosphere and in accordance with the country's constitution, which was considered a victory for the Iraqi nation and led to increased solidarity among the people."
He continued, "Military action alone proved inadequate in the confrontation with IS terrorists and it is necessary that all the world's countries cooperate in the campaign against the phenomenon."
Stressing that Syria and Iraq are on the frontlines of the battle against terrorism, the official said, "Those who were once the sponsors of IS are now its victims."
The Iraqi prime minister, for his part, welcomed the Iranian delegation and expressed hope that relations between the two states would be expanded.
Abadi highlighted the great potential grounds for cooperation between the two counters and said, "Iran and Iraq can establish good cooperation in a variety of areas, such as oil and gas, housing, transportation and other fields."
He said he is hopeful that the two countries' officials would make efforts to remove the impediments in the way of implementing agreements between the two neighboring states to prepare the ground for promotion of Tehran-Baghdad cooperation.
The first vice president heading a top-level political and economic delegation arrived in Baghdad on Monday morning to attend the Iran-Iraq High Joint Commission and confer with Iraqi officials.
