“We believe that this issue will not only be extended between the two countries, but would be expanded to other countries in the region in the future,” said the President on Saturday, April 6, addressing a joint press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi.

Dr. Rouhani underlined the deep-seated relations between the two countries, saying: "Over the centuries, relations between Iran and Iraq have always been good and growing, but today we are in a fortunate position for the development of relations.”

He named the rail link between the two countries as one of the important agreements between Iran and Iraq, and added: "We hope that the connection between Iran and Iraq will take place in different directions in the future, but for the time being, the connection of the railroad from Shalamcheh to Basra is underlined by the two sides.”

The President pointed to the issue of electricity exports and the connection of the Iranian power and gas networks to that of Iraq in the future, saying, "We are ready to establish these connections and believe that this issue will not only be extended between the two countries, but would be expanded to other countries in the region in the future.”

Rouhani described Iran-Iraqi business relations as very well, and said: "Our plan for the future is to achieve a trade volume of $20 billion between the two countries, which we hope to reach this point in the coming months."