President Pezeshkian to visit neighboring Iraq on first foreign trip

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian will visit neighboring Iraq on Wednesday in what will be his first trip abroad since he took office in July.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, Pezeshkian will set off for Baghdad on Wednesday to hold talks with senior Iraqi officials.

The Iranian president’s visit will come at the invitation of Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Iran's Ambassador to Baghdad Mohammad Kazem Al-e Sadeq said in an interview with IRNA late last month.

He added that the two countries will sign agreements on bilateral cooperation and security issues.

He noted that the agreements were to have been signed during a planned visit to Iraq by Iran's late president Ebrahim Raeisi, who lost his life in a tragic helicopter crash in May along with former foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six of their companions.

The Iranian ambassador pointed to the satisfactory level of mutual relations at different levels and expressed hope that Pezeshkian’s visit to Baghdad will result in further expansion of political, economic and cultural ties.

Iran and Iraq have been taking major strides towards the expansion of relations over the past two decades.

Pezeshkian has repeatedly announced that his administration will "prioritize" strengthening ties with the neighboring countries.

In March 2023, Iran and Iraq signed a security agreement in Baghdad encompassing coordination in protecting the shared border.

In a meeting with the Iraqi premier late in July, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei placed a premium on the need to pursue the implementation of bilateral agreements which have already been signed between the two countries.

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