Iraq, Iran sign MoUs in different spheres

TEHRAN / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi-Iranian talks in Tehran were capped by the signing of several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in the fields of industry, electricity, trade, housing, and diplomacy, Iraq’s ambassador in Tehran said on Saturday. “President Talabani’s visit to Tehran with a high-level delegation resulted as expected in signing several memorandums of understanding between Iraqi ministers and their Iranian counterparts,” Mohammed Majeed al-Sheikh told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The MoU signed by Iraqi Industry Minister Fawzy Hariri envisaged an agreement on exchange of expertise and activation of industrial cooperation,” he said. Sheikh added that the Iraqi and Iranian foreign ministries signed a deal to further diplomatic relations, noting the Iranians agreed to provide training courses to Iraqi diplomats at their institutes. “As for electricity, Iraqi Minister Kareem Waheed signed an MoU on increasing the volume of energy Iran is providing Iraq with in the coming stage, while Minister of Trade Abdelfalah al-Sudani signed a deal to expand trade exchange via joint borders between the two countries, including those adjacent to the Iraqi Kurdistan region,” he said. The Iraqi minister of housing also signed an agreement with her Iranian counterpart on exchange of expertise and development of plans to benefit from the two countries’ urban programs, Sheikh said. Talabani had arrived in Tehran Thursday night coming from the South Korean capital Seoul where he paid a four-day visit for talks with South Korean officials. He met on Friday with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. AmR (S)/SR 1