President Rouhani stresses need to further broaden Tehran-Baghdad cooperation

Tehran, July 31, IRNA - President Hassan Rouhani in a telephone conversation with his Iraqi counterpart Barham Salih on Friday underlined the need for increasing the level of mutual cooperation and bilateral relations between Tehran and Baghdad. During the phone conversation, President Rouhani congratulated his Iraqi counterpart on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, and said that the two countries should further enhance their bilateral relations and expedite the implementation of the already signed agreements between the two countries. "The deep bond has been established between the nations of the two countries throughout the history and it becomes more manifested on such occasions (like Eid al-Adha), and I hope that after the reduction in the spread of coronavirus, the two countries' officials and people would have more interactions with each other," the Iranian president said while describing Eid al-Adha as a manifestation of unity among world Muslims. President Rouhani termed the recent visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi as positive and an opportunity to review the issues of mutual interest, and expressed hope that the decisions and agreements would be implemented as soon as possible with the efforts of the Iranian and Iraqi officials and that the economic relations and trade exchanges between the two countries would be further expanded. "The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to develop all-out bilateral relations with Iraq, and it is ready for cooperation and share experiences with Iraq in the path of fighting coronavirus," the Iranian president added. President Barham Salih, for his part, congratulated Eid al-Adha to the Iranian government and nation, and said, "The manifestation of this great festivity is unity of Muslims and we hope the unity and cooperation among regional countries would further expand given the current conditions of the world and spread of coronavirus." He appreciated Iran's supports and assistane for Iraq in the path of fighting coronavirus, and evaluated the Iraqi prime minister's visit to Iran as positive while emphasizing on the need for cooperation, convergence and trying to broaden relations and implement the agreements signed between the two countries. "Expansion of all-out relations with Iran is an unavoidable principle in Iraq's foreign policy," President Salih added.