TEHRAN - Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) and the Iraqi Finance Minister held talks on Tuesday, calling for strengthening customs and border cooperation between the two countries, IRIB reported.

In a meeting on the sidelines of a visit between Iraq’s Prime Minister Mostafa al-Kadhimi and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Mehdi Mirashrafi and Ali Allawi emphasized the reopening of Iran-Iraq borders and boosting customs cooperation.

During the meeting, the Iraqi minister underlined his government’s interest in joint cooperation and using Iran's customs experiences, especially in the field of electronic procedures and automation.

Regarding his country's borders with Iran, he announced the Iraqi government’s decision on reopening southern borders as soon as possible.

Regarding the technical cooperation between the two countries, Allawi called for sending Iraqi customs experts and staff to Iran to use the technical experiences of the Iranian customs.

The establishment of a joint trade gateway was also emphasized between the Iraqi minister of finance and the IRICA head.

EF/MA