Iran seeks to increase trade volume with Iraq, Raisi says

Shafaq News/ Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Saturday said that his country seeks to increase the volume of trade with Iraq, which amounted to more than 10 billion euros in a year.

This came during a joint press conference held today with his Iraqi counterpart, Abdul Latif Jamil Rashid, who is on a one-day state visit to Tehran.

During the press conference, the Iranian president said, "We discussed topics in various fields, and we have a good level of political, commercial, and cultural relations that represent the will of the two countries."

"The relations between the two countries and the peoples are not normal, but rather special and distinctive, and they are entirely strategic," he added.

Raisi said the trade volume the two countries share amounts to more than 10 billion euros, but both countries seek to step it up.

The Iranian president stressed that the joint infrastructure projects, particularly in the energy and water sectors, will continue to benefit from the existing capacities in a bid to meet the needs of both nations.

Raisi said he discussed the security coordination between the two neighboring countries, indicating that security disturbances in Iraq have a huge impact on Iran, and Tehran attaches great importance to its border security.

"The security understanding between us is not limited to improving security in Iran and Iraq only but includes the entire region," he explained, "at the same time, we believe that the negotiations between the countries of the region contribute to improving security and stability. From our perspective, the presence of foreign forces, especially American ones, harms the security and stability of the region."

The Iranian president confirmed that "in our relations with the Republic of Iraq, we seek to achieve common interests... But the United States seeks to achieve its interests only and does not think about the interests of the people or the interests of the region's people."

"The distinctive relations between Iraq and Iran have led and continue to lead to good cooperation between us at the regional and international levels," he said, "our interests dictate that we use these good relations in all fields, at the regional and global levels."