Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani met on Monday Iran's police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan, and they discussed security coordination including securing the borders and fighting drug trafficking.
This comes weeks after Baghdad announced achieving progress in its border security agreement with Tehran.
The two sides stressed the importance of bilateral security cooperation in matters of border control and the fight against drug trafficking, which poses a shared threat to both countries.
They discussed various aspects of cooperation between the two countries, especially ways to maintain security and pursue organized crime, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The prime minister emphasized the significance of collaboration between the police services of the two countries to enforce the law, maintain security, and foster commerce and integration across a range of economic issues.
This is the first visit of an Iranian official following the recent visit of Sudani to Tehran on Nov. 6.
Iraq and Iran signed a joint security agreement on March 19. The deal focused on two points: disarming the Iranian opposition and securing the borders.
In Sep., the High Committee responsible for implementing the joint security agreement announced the evacuation of the Iranian opposition parties’ headquarters that are near the borders, and the Iraqi border guards were deployed in these areas.
Iraq's National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji announced last month that there is great progress in the border agreement with Iran.
Major General Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab Sukkar, the commander of the Iraqi Border Guard forces, reported on Sunday that several measures were taken on the borders with Iran to prevent smuggling and illegal activities and to ensure that security is reinforced on the joint borders.
In press statements, he said that a 650-km path was opened at the Iraqi-Iranian border in the area of the Iraqi al-Shayb port.
