Iranian President, Iraqi PM agree to support regional dialogue, de-escalation
The Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. Photo: AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, confirmed on Sunday the importance of dialogue to find regional solutions, during a joint press conference with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, held in Tehran.
“We affirm with Iraq the need to support peace and stability in the region, this comes through cooperation between the region’s leaders, but the presence of foreign leaders will not solve the regional issues,” Raisi said during the joint press conference.
Raisi indicated that the visit of Al-Kadhemi to Tehran will be a turning point to develop the relations between the two countries.
“Our relations with Iraq are cultural and ideological, not ordinary relations, and there is a clear intention by the leadership of the two countries to develop the relations in various fields,” Raisi elaborated.
The Iranian President indicated that they discussed the political relations and ways to strengthen trade and economic ties.
“We discussed ways of connecting the two countries through the railway in southern Iran, to facilitate trade exchange between both countries through this route, and to facilitate banking and financial relations between Iraq and Iran,” Raisi explained.
Regarding the crisis in Yemen, Raisi stressed the need to find a solution to the crisis, to continue the ceasefire, to lift the siege and to support the dialogue between the Yemeni parties to end the suffering of the Yemeni people.
“The attempts of the Zionist entity to normalize its relations with some countries in the region will never give them security,” Raisi commented on Israel’s attempts to normalize ties with regional countries.
The Iraqi Prime Minister confirmed that the relations with Iran are very important. “We came to Tehran to discuss the bilateral relations while taking into account the historical, cultural and religious prospects,” Al-Kadhimi said.
With respect to the region’s security, Al-Kadhimi said that they agreed to pacify the regional situations, to support the truce in Yemen and to back the dialogue to end the war.
In regards to food security, Al-Kadhimi confirmed that both parties agreed on joint efforts to face this challenge caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war.