The Iranian and Iraqi delegations signed 14 memorandums of understanding during president Pezeshkian’s visit to the neighboring country of Iraq. His first foreign visit since taking office.
Referring high-profile talks between the Iranian and Iraqi delegations in Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office said in statement, “A number of cooperation documents were signed between the two countries in the fields of tax cooperation, agriculture, natural resources, communication, social support, sports and youth affairs, education, tourism, cultural and artistic exchange, and also cooperation in the field of historical works.”
According to the statement, part of these cooperation documents are focused on cooperating in the field of training specialized manpower, strengthening and promoting skilled labor forces and also the cooperation between the chambers of commerce of the two countries.
Pezeshkian’s visit to Iraq is his first official visit outside the country as president of Iran. It was organised at the official invitation of the Prime Minister of Iraq, Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani.
The Iranian president gifted a plaque to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani, containing a message written in arabic from Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. The leader expressed his gratitude to the Iraqi nation and government for their unwavering and continuous efforts in welcoming pilgrims during the Arbaeen rituals.
He emphasized the significance of providing security and ensuring the health of tens of millions of pilgrims in today’s insecure world and extended special thanks to the Iraqi government officials, scholars, and Marja for their role in ensuring the safety and tranquility of all pilgrims.
In a meeting with Iranian businesspeople active in Iraq, president Pezeshkian emphasized the need to remove all obstacles in trade between the two countries. He added that he had “positive” talks with the Iraqi prime minister on aspects of bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
Putting the current level of trade between Iran and Iraq at $12 billion, Samad Hassanzadeh, president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture of Iran (ICCIMA), said that the figure can be increased to $20 billion and that Iran can make investments in different Iraqi sectors including agriculture, petrochemicals, plastic, glass, shoes and clothes.
Pezeshkian also held talks with the head of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, Faeq Zaidan, on September 12. On the same day he traveled to Erbil where he held talks with Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from 2005 to 2017. Pezeshkian is a fluent speaker of kurdish. He also met with Abdul Latif Rashid, president of Iraq since 2022. He also holds Brittish citizenship and was spokesperson for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the United Kingdom.