Iran’s Shamkhani to Visit Iraq after Fruitful Trips to China, UAE
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani is going to visit Iraq following high-level talks in Abu Dhabi and a week after the conclusion of a Chinese-mediated agreement between Tehran and Riyadh on mending ties and reopening the embassies.
The top Iranian security official will reportedly travel to Iraq in order to “settle the security challenges and implement the economic deals” with the Arab country.
Iraq is now Iran’s second biggest trade partner.
According to Nour News, maintaining and increasing the annual trade exchanges with Iraq, whose value is estimated at $10 billion, requires plans to remove a series of security challenges imposed on the two countries’ ties, expedite the implementation of the economic agreements and facilitate banking cooperation.
Accompanied by governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), head of the Iranian Intelligence Ministry’s foreign intelligence organization, and the Iranian foreign minister’s deputy for the Persian Gulf countries’ affairs, Shamkhani visited Abu Dhabi on Thursday and held talks with top Emirati officials about improving the political and economic relations between Iran and the UAE.
The visits to the UAE and Iraq come after Iran and Saudi Arabia announced their decision to restore ties.
Following days of intensive talks in Beijing, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on March 10 to resume their diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and diplomatic missions within at most two months.
The Arab governments neighboring Iran have eagerly welcomed the rapprochement between the two regional heavyweights.