TEHRAN – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said his country is seeking expansion of energy ties with neighbor Iraq, Shana reported.

Raisi made the remarks in a joint press conference with Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani who arrived in the Iranian capital Tuesday morning to hold talks with the authorities of the Islamic Republic.

“Fortunately, today Iran and Iraq have very good and close cooperation in a wide range of political, economic, security, social, cultural, scientific, and technological areas, and we hope that this cooperation will be improved in the future,” Raisi said.

Banking relations, a must for expanding energy ties

After meeting with President Raisi, Al-Sudani also held talks with Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, in which the two sides stressed the need for establishing and strengthening banking ties as a prerequisite for the expansion of energy relations.

Speaking at this meeting, Mokhber pointed to the numerous areas for mutual cooperation between Iran and Iraq, saying that the strengthening of banking cooperation is a prerequisite for the development of economic relations and the expansion of cooperation in the energy sector.

He called on the Iraqi side to take the necessary measures for the removal of barriers in the way of banking and commercial exchanges between the two countries.

Oil Ministry opens office in Iraq

Also, Seyyed Abbas Beheshti, the representative of the Iranian Oil Ministry for Iraqi affairs, announced the opening of the ministry's office in the capital of the neighboring country on Tuesday.

"This office was opened in Baghdad in order to enhance the level of cooperation and synergy [between the two sides], and especially to carry out joint projects between the two brotherly countries in the fields of oil, gas, and energy," Beheshti said.

The official also said that this office in Baghdad is in charge of the other offices in other parts of Iraq, adding that the ministry will also have offices in Basra and the Kurdistan Region as well.

EF/MA