Zarif met and held talks with President Barham Saleh in Baghdad on Monday to discuss bilateral, regional, and international issues.
The Iraqi president's office issued a statement saying that Barham Saleh and Mohammad Javad Zarif considered deep-rooted relations between the two states, as well as strong social, religious, cultural, and geographical commonalities between the two nations, stressing that Tehran-Baghdad relations are in the interest of the two countries and the whole region.
The two sides emphasized the importance of developing bilateral cooperation and activating the agreements signed in various sectors, according to the statement.
Barham Saleh said that the policy that Iraq has opened to regional countries and the world aims to build balanced relations within the framework of supporting efforts to reduce tensions and crises in the region.
He added that Iraq can have a pivotal role in strengthening stability, security, economy, environmental protection, and mutual development opportunities that all countries and nations in the region would benefit from it.
Zarif stressed that the Islamic Republic of Iran supports Iraq's stability and sovereignty and looks forward to the special development of relations between the two countries.
Thanking Iraq for preparing the grounds for talks in the region, he hoped that the talks would lead to more dialogs and more serious mutual understanding.
The Iraqi foreign minister, for his part, stressed Baghdad’s role in solving the issues of the region and added that he spoke with Zarif about Iran-US ties and relations with Persian Gulf states.
Heading a delegation, Zarif arrived in Baghdad on Monday to confer with his Iraqi counterparts and other officials on his two-day stay. He will also hold talks with Iraqi Kurdistan Region officials tomorrow.
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