Iraq's Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, met on Saturday his Iranian counterpart, Hossein AmirAbdollahian, in New York, on the sidelines of the 76th UN General Assembly session.

وزير الخارجيَّة يلتقي نظيره الإيرانيّ في نيويورك .. ويدعو إلى البدء بالخطوات التنفيذيّة للاتفاقات المُتعلقة بالحدود البريّة والبحريّة، وكريّ مجرى شط العرب pic.twitter.com/6577GG6HGZ

— وزارة الخارجية العراقية (@Iraqimofa) September 26, 2021

The two foreign ministers discussed Iraqi-Iranian relations on a number of levels and exchanged views on political and security developments in the region.

Hussein stressed that Iraq has taken all necessary measures to secure the arrival of Iranian pilgrims to perform the Arbaeen pilgrimage, expressing his hope to begin operational steps for the land and maritime borders agreements and to dig the sea deposits in the Shatt al-Arab (Arvand Rud) waterway.

Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources Spokesperson Aoun Dhiab had said last month that the issue of Shatt al-Arab must be resolved in order to prevent the same thing from happening every year, which is why a plan was proposed to build a joint dam with Iran in the region.

The Iraqi Minister stressed the importance of continued cooperation, noting that the water problems Iraq is going through because of its insufficient water resources or the diversion of river courses have had severe environmental and economic repercussions.

Both sides lauded Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi's visit to Tehran and his meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. They also discussed the Iranian financial claims in return for buying gas and electricity in light of the sanctions imposed on Iran.