Tehran, Sep 13 (IANS) Iranian President and the visiting Iraqi Prime Minister on Sunday called for further boost of bilateral cooperation in a series of areas.

"The relations between the Islamic Republic and our friendly and brotherly country Iraq are at a very good level in the political, economic and cultural fields, and we think that these relations can be further expanded," Xinhua news agency quoted Ebrahim Raisi as saying during a joint press conference with the Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Tehran.

"We believe that these relations can be developed in different areas, as our ties with Iraq are not just the relationship between two neighboring countries, but also rooted in beliefs, hearts and deep relationship between the two countries, two nations and two governments," added Raisi.

Strengthening relations between the two countries can boost the roles of Tehran and Baghdad on regional and international stages, he said, adding that "despite the enemies' will, the level of relations between Iran and Iraq will develop day by day."

The Iranian president also noted that both countries stressed acceleration of building railway corridor between Iran's Shalamcheh and Iraq's Basra.

Furthermore, they discussed strengthening of financial and monetary ties between the two countries.

For his part, al-Kadhimi stated that "we discussed a series of cases related to the development of bilateral relations today, and we are determined to expand the level of our relations as much as possible in line with the interests of the two nations."

Both sides exchanged views on the increase of trade volume between the two countries, he said.

The Iraqi prime minister expressed his gratitude for Iran's support in the fight against the
Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq, stressing that the Iraqi government and people will stand by the Iranian government and people in all areas.

Heading a high-ranking political and economic delegation, al-Kadhimi paid his second visit to Tehran on Sunday since he became the premier of Iraq in May 2020.

--IANS int/shs