Ardakanian told IRNA the contract used to be one-year but during this trip both sides signed a contract for exporting electricity in 2020 and 2021.

He added that with coordination of the Iranian embassy in Iraq, half of the disbursement worth $400m was received during the trip.

Ardakanian also referred to his meetings with his Iraqi counterpart Majid Mahdi Hantoush, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, President Barham Salih, Minister of Finance Ali Abdul Amir Alavi and governor of Iraqi central bank.

He noted that both sides reviewed previous agreements and a three-year plan for reconstructing Iraqi electricity industry by the Iranian private sector.

Iranian technical and expert delegations will visit Iraq next week to sign two important contracts on reducing power grid losses and repairing electricity equipment.

Developing Tehran-Baghdad electricity cooperation, synchronizing electricity grids, establishing cooperation in education, and developing power grids are among the topics that will be discussed by both sides.

Reporter’s code: 50101