Ahmadinejad’s trip to Iraq will bolster ties: official

The Islamic Culture and Relations Organization Director Mahdi Mostafavi has lauded President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s planned visit to Iraq, saying it will be “an important step towards expansion of bilateral relations”.

The president’s visit will also pave the way for the settlement of the two countries’ security problems, Mostafavi told the Mehr News Agency on the sidelines of Wednesday’s cabinet session.

He said the U.S. efforts have failed to foment discord between Iran and its neighbors, adding, “Visiting the regional countries especially by high ranking officials like the president will establish good relations among countries.”

Referring to a recent dispute between Iranian and Iraqi officials over the 1975 Algiers Accord, ICRO director said, “The joint committees have suggested appropriate solutions to the problems.”

The Algiers Accord was inked between Iran and Iraq in 1975 to settle disputes over the Arvand Rud (Shatt-al-Arab) waterway, which forms the boundary between Iran’s Khuzestan Province and Iraq. Link