Iran and Iraq ready to remove obstacles for promoting cooperation

EghtesadOnline: Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh explored avenues for promoting cooperation between the two countries as well as obstacles in the way of mutual collaboration with Iraqi Prime Minister Heydar Al-Abadi in the capital city late on Monday.

News ID: ۷۳۹۹۵۴

21 February 2017

According to a statement by Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office, both officials also shared views on cooperation in the fields of oil and gas as well as electricity.

Zangeneh also conveyed President Hassan Rouhani and First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri's regards to Al-Abadi, reaffirming Iran’s support to Iraq in anti-terrorism campaign, ILNA reported.

Speaking to reporters, he said the first phase of gas pipe-line from Kermanshah in Iran is to transfer gas to Diyala province in east of Iraq, he said.

The second phase of gas pipe-line is to transfer Iran's gas to Iraq via Basra in south of Iraq, he said.

He also expressed satisfaction with the level of international cooperation mainly among OPEC members leading to global market price hikes.

There are ample of untapped grounds for the expansion of mutual cooperation between Iran and Iraq in oil projects, Zanganeh said.

The Iraqi petroleum minister, for his part, welcomed his Iranian counterpart, and said Iraq can bolster and broaden cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran as a big oil producing country.

Baghdad spares no efforts to expand such cooperation now and in the future, he said.

Zangeneh arrived in Baghdad on Monday at the head of a delegation and was welcomed by his Iraqi counterpart, Jabbar Ali al-Luaibi.

Iraq intends to meet its power plants’ fuel needs via gas imports from Iran to replace oil and gasoline with gas for its cost-effectiveness to the country.