Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says Iran is optimistic about Iraq's future, announcing Tehran's readiness for all-out cooperation with Baghdad, Press TV reported.
"Considering the measures taken in Iraq we are very optimistic about Iraq's future... and we are ready for cooperation to expand relations with [our] friend and brother country," Salehi said in a meeting with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Shahristani on Sunday.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has high level of technical knowledge in different fields and we can work together without any need for foreign countries," Mehr News Agency quoted Salehi as saying.
"Regional developments increase the necessity of expanding ties between the two countries," Shahristani said, adding that although relations between Iran and Iraq are already increasing, the officials of the two countries should prepare more effective grounds for cooperation.
Shahristani pointed to the expansion of cooperation between two countries in the energy sector and said, "Considering its experiences, capacity and capabilities the Islamic Republic of Iran, it can help Iraq in this regard."
The Iraqi deputy prime minister added that there are no limitations or obstacles for the activity of Iranian companies in Iraq, and Baghdad welcomes their presence in the country.
On February 17, Iran opened a four-day exhibition in the city of Sulaymanieh, in Iraq's Kurdistan region, to highlight Iranian businesses and products.
The displays in the exhibit range from farming machinery and engineering firms to food products and local Kurdish handicrafts with many big businesses looking to expand into the Kurdish Iraqi region
This is the third exhibition of its kind to be held in Sulaymanieh as trade between Iran and Iraq is on the rise.
More than 40,000 people are expected to attend the exhibition over the next three days, with organizers describing the first day's turnout as "a great success."