Mahdi held talks with Iranian President Hassan Rohani in Tehran on Saturday. President Rouhani called on the two countries to expand energy cooperation, adding that Tehran ready to strengthen cooperation with Iraq despite the difficulties due to US sanctions.
The two countries pledged to boost the bilateral trade to $20 billion in the near future. The two leaders expressed hope that work on building a railway linking the two countries will be implemented within the next few months. This is part of the agreement reached in Rouhani's landmark visit to Iraq last month.