MNA – Top Military Aide to the Iranian Leader, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, said Wed. that Iraq and Syria are strategically complementary to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He made the remarks on Wednesday in his visit to southern Khuzestan province and added, “Iraq and Syria’s 60 million population serves as a good target export market for the Islamic Republic of Iran, so that Iran’s exports capacity of $10 billion in the past year in 2018 can hit $20 billion in Iraq's lucrative market.”

Safavi termed Khuzestan province as Iran’s second vital and strategic region after Tehran province.

He placed special emphasis on the need to compile a 30-year strategy for free zones and added, “foreign investors are not seeking short-term investment, but a long-term one in this province.”

“The vast extent of Iran’s land borders with Iraq and also the transit of million pilgrims from the borders of the Islamic Republic to Iraq's holy sites have contributed to the promotion of trade and business with the neighboring country," he added.