Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani showed strong determination to implement the joint projects agreed by the two countries during recent mutual visits after the holy month of Ramadan in early June.
Abdul Mahdi arrived in Tehran on Saturday morning at the head of a politico-economic delegation to discuss ways of improving bilateral cooperation with Iranian authorities, IRNA reported.
The Iraqi premier was received by Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport before meeting President Hassan Rouhani in Sa'adabad Palace where they discussed the projects’ details.
Iran and Iraq agreed on a free-of-charge visa, the first of which was issued on Saturday.
"I hope this would facilitate the two countries' mutual ties," Rouhani said in a press conference after his meeting with Abdul Mahdi.
Dredging of Arvandroud, a river along the Iran-Iraq border, was another key point of discussion.
"We expect all technical plans will have been devised by the end of Ramadan so that the dredging operations can be initiated after this month," Rouhani said.
Iran and Iraq also plan to establish a network of rail connection. The first section on the agenda is between the two cities of Shalamcheh and Basra.
The president expressed hope that the railroad’s construction will kick-start after the month of Ramadan.
The export of gas and electricity to Iraq will also continue, according to Rouhani, despite restrictions imposed by the United States, which also wants Baghdad to cut its reliance on Iranian energy.
"With regard to financial and banking relations, effective steps have been taken over the past months which we hope will be finalized during the upcoming visit by the governor of the Central Bank of Iran [Abdolnasser Hemmati] to Baghdad," he said.
Iranian and Iraqi officials had also agreed to build joint industrial towns on border areas.
In the Saturday meeting, the two sides agreed to initiate the plan with a town in the southern region and another on the border with Kurdistan Region in the first phase.
Rouhani also pointed to the bilateral trade target of $20 billion, hoping the goal will be achieved as soon as possible.
"Today, we also stressed the importance of cooperation to ensure the security of the two countries at borders and combat terrorism, and drug smuggling," he said, adding that the interior ministers are to hold a meeting in this regard later in the day.
Bright Prospects
Abdul Mahdi described Iran as a "friendly, neighboring Muslim country" stressing that bilateral cooperation will open up bright prospects for the two countries.
"Thanks to Iran's assistance, we managed to achieve immense success in our fight against terrorism and today, Iraq enjoys great peace and stability," he said.
The Iraqi premier reassured that his country will not allow other states to undertake hostile activity against Iran from its soil.
"Iraq’s Constitution bans any use of Iraqi land to launch operations against other countries," he said, adding that Baghdad is determined to withstand any threat toward Iran (from its soil).
In addition to meeting top Iranian officials, Abdul Mahdi is scheduled to attend the third joint business forum whose previous rounds were held in Baghdad during Zarif and Rouhani's trips to that country.
A visit to the holy shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH), the third Shia Imam, in the city of Mashhad is among other plans of Abdul Mahdi's two-day stay.
