Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony to sign the contract extension in Iraq on Wednesday, Majid Chegeni explained that the two countries signed two gas contracts – one for Baghdad in July 2017 and one for Basra in June 2018.

Chegeni, who is also the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) managing director, said the two sides held several rounds of talks in Tehran and Baghdad before finalizing and renewing the deal.

Iran a reliable economic partner

Iraq’s Minister of Electricity Ziyad Ali Fazel said his country will keep importing gas from Iran in the next five years under the extended contract, underlining that Iraq’s power plants are in dire need of gas for generating electricity.

Experience over the past years has proved Iran a reliable economic partner for Iraq, emphasized Fazel, adding Iran has met “our needs in the most difficult circumstances”.