Iran Press/ Commentary: During his visit to Tehran, the Iraqi Foreign Minister is scheduled to meet with Iranian officials, including Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, to discuss bilateral relations and regional developments.
In a recent message to Iraqi Foreign Minister, Amir- Abdollahian reiterated Iran's readiness to cooperate in the comprehensive development of relations between the two countries.
The visit of the Iraqi delegation to Tehran takes place at a time when the Iraqi political and security scene is also witnessing significant changes. The Iraqi Federal Court said that it will announce its verdict next Sunday, after twice postponing the hearing on the complaints about the violations of the parliamentary elections; Meanwhile, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command also announced the evacuation of two bases, Ain al-Assad and Al-Harir from US terrorist forces.
In recent years, Iran has always been the first country to help the neighboring and Muslim country of Iraq during the crises that it has faced; among other things, in the ISIL invasion of Iraq, it was Iran that stood by the Iraqi people and government and was able to eradicate the roots of terrorism, and then the economic and trade relations between the two countries expanded.
Iraqi President Barham Saih praised the Islamic Republic of Iran's efforts to preserve Iraq's territorial integrity and fight terrorism adding: "It is recorded in history that Iran is a friend of Iraq during the difficult days, and this issue will always be a beacon for the future of relations between the two countries.
Among the Arab countries in the West Asian region, Iraq has the most cultural and religious affinities with Iran. Having the longest border between neighbors (about 1258 km land border and 351 km water border), racial, historical, linguistic ties, religious commonalities and the existence of common security and economic threats and interests are important points in Iran-Iraq relations. The statements of the Iranian and Iraqi officials also show the serious determination of the two countries to develop comprehensive relations.
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Of course, in recent years, the United States has tried, in addition to straining political relations between Tehran and Baghdad, to take measures aimed at reducing Iran-Iraq trade cooperation, and in this direction, it imposed various sanctions, and put obstacles to bilateral trade between the two countries. However, Iran and Iraq are targeting $ 20 billion in trade between the two countries, and according to the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, trade between the two countries in the first week of this year (1400) grew by 17% and Iraq after China in Iran is the second largest export destination.
"From a regional policy point of view, Iraq can be our most important partner in the economic, trade and even political fields, connecting points such as history, culture, human relations and geographical proximity of the two countries," said Mohammad Sadegh Koushki, an expert on Iraqi issues.
Obviously, Iran-Iraq relations are beyond the neighborhood and in addition to the position that these two countries have in regional arrangements and bilateral relations with each other, they can also play an important role in regional convergence by developing relations; The existence of great capacities for cooperation between the two countries in the political, economic, cultural and security fields has provided suitable conditions for the further development of relations; Accordingly, the visit of the Iraqi delegation to Tehran can be considered as a sign of the seriousness and will of the officials of the two countries to bring the views closer and find solutions to expand bilateral and regional relations.
Witten by Hassan Aghighi Salmasi
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