Iran President Pezeshkian, Iraqi Kurdish leader Barzani meet in Erbil

Heading a high-ranking delegation, Pezeshkian arrived in the Kurdistan’s capital on Thursday on the second day of his three-day visit to Iraq and was welcomed by Barzani upon his arrival.

During his meeting with Barzani, Pezeshkian expressed Iran’s keenness to boost economic and trade cooperation with the Kurdistan Region.

He stressed the need for steps to be taken to reach further agreements aimed at consolidating relations and achieving progress and development.

“It is essential to improve cooperation (in order to) prepare the necessary security ground for enhanced economic and commercial relations and interactions, especially in the border areas,” the Iranian president emphasized.

Barzani, for his part, said Kurdistan imported more than 50 percent of its required commodities from Iran, expressing hope that the two sides will accelerate the expansion of their interaction.

He hailed the “historical and important” visit by the Iranian president to the Kurdistan Region and said Erbil is keen to expand relations with Tehran.

He emphasized that the Kurdistan Region is committed to a security pact between Iran and Iraq and will never allow any sides to use it as a threat against the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s president also held a meeting with Masoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the former KRG president.

This is the first official visit to Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region by an Iranian president since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Pezeshkian has earlier hailed good relations between Tehran and the Kurdistan Region and vowed to make efforts to further improve mutual ties.

After Erbil, the Iranian president plans to travel to the city of Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq to meet with the leaders of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Pezeshkian is also scheduled to visit the city of Basra, the economic capital of Iraq, as well as the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.

On the first day of his visit, the Iranian president held talks with his Iraqi counterpart Abdul Latif, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani and President of the Supreme Judicial Council Faiq Zidan in Baghdad. He also met Iranian nationals and Iraqi tradesmen.

In the presence of the Iranian president and Iraqi prime minister, Tehran and Baghdad signed 14 documents to expand cooperation in various economic, commercial, cultural and social sectors.