Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, the prime minister of Iraq is expected to visit Tehran on Tuesday at the official invitation of the Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi.
Iran and Iraq are enjoying great relations and the visit of the Iraqi premier to Tehran in the first months of the formation of the new government is of utmost importance. Therefore, Iran Daily discussed the importance of this visit and the vital interest of the two countries with Seyyed Reza Sadr al-Hosseini, an expert on regional issues.
IRAN DAILY: Mr. Sadr al-Hosseini, the Iraqi prime minister will visit Tehran in the first months since he took office. In your opinion, from what aspects is this trip important in the current situation?
SADR AL-HUSSEINI: One of the main priorities in the foreign policy agenda of the Raeisi administration has been the development of relations with neighbors. Based on this road map, most of the actions taken by Raeisi’s cabinet have been and will continue to be aimed at boosting relations with neighbors.
Iraqi Prime Minister al-Sudani’s visit to Tehran is evaluated in the same context and is welcomed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the relations between Iran and Iraq have a historical, religious, cultural and economic background.
The two countries have a common border of 1,400 kilometers, and securing these borders, fighting terrorism, drug trafficking, maintaining the territorial integrity of the two countries and developing economic relations are among the mutual topics of interest between the two countries that make al-Sudani’s visit to Tehran all the more important.
This trip will take place right after Iran’s military actions against the bases of opposition and separatist groups in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In this regard, talks have been held between Tehran and Baghdad, and the two capitals reached some understanding. Regardless, do you think this issue will be raised during al-Sudani’s visit?
Based on measures carried out by the Kurdish provinces of Iraq against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which de-stabilized the security of Iran in the past year, Tehran sent the necessary documents and evidence about the influence of the separatist and opposition groups of Iran to the officials of the local government in the Kurdistan Region and the federal government in Baghdad. In the past two or three months, especially since the entry of terrorists from the Kurdistan Region into Iran, Tehran has been primarily concerned, and it has conveyed its concerns to the Iraqi authorities.
Jeopardizing national security is the red line of the Islamic Republic of Iran. That is why in the past weeks, the Iranian Armed Forces have taken measures to ensure security.
However, the importance of the issue demands that dialogue be formed at the level of senior officials of the two countries regarding border security and preventing terrorist actions.
Hence, it seems that this topic is one of the vital issues that will be raised in the talks between the Iraqi prime minister and the Iranian president.
Of course, in the past days, al-Sudani, as the Commander-in-Chief ordered the Iraqi Army to be stationed on the Iranian border and take control of border security, which was a good development.
It has been speculated that al-Sudani will leave for Saudi Arabia after Iran. At the same time, the Iraqi foreign minister has announced his readiness to host Tehran-Riyadh talks. Is it possible that al-Sudani is conveying a message from Riyadh to Tehran?
Al-Kadhimi, the former prime minister of Iraq, always expressed his interest in mediating between Tehran and Riyadh during his four trips to Iran. There have been five rounds of talks between delegations from Iran and Saudi Arabia hosted by Iraq.
Recently, Fuad Hussein, the Iraqi foreign minister, has expressed Saudi Arabia’s interest in resuming the negotiations between Tehran and Riyadh. Considering the fact that Iran has not announced its reluctance to hold these talks, it seems that the talks between the political officials of Iran and Saudi Arabia are one of the topics that could be raised by the Iraqi premier in Tehran.
In the economic field and the development of commercial relations, can the new Iraqi government make progress?
In the previous meetings and understandings between the two countries, the expansion of relations in various economic fields has been discussed. However, the level of trade between Iran and Iraq has not yet reached the desired level considered by the officials of the two countries. Today, Iraq has needs in various fields, including electricity production, health care and industries, and Tehran can help in meeting these needs.
Recently, Iranian government officials have emphasized the continuation of cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad regarding the construction of power plants, gas exports, and scientific and educational interactions related to health and treatment.
Therefore, it seems that providing the ground for the development of economic relations is one of the important topics discussed between the senior officials of Iran and Iraq in Tehran. The Islamic Republic has the ability to exchange knowledge with Iraq, especially in the field of new technologies. The new Iraqi government emphasizes the necessity of developing economic relations with Iran in view of its needs in various fields.
Therefore, the Iraqi prime minister’s visit is important in various aspects for securing the interests of both countries.
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