TEHRAN -- Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said here on Saturday that the Tehran Municipality is prepared to offer urban, technical, engineering, development, transportation, and traffic services to the Baghdad Municipality.

He made the remarks during a meeting with Baghdad Mayor Saber al-Issawi, who arrived in Tehran earlier in the day at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart.

During the meeting, the mayor of Baghdad referred to the historical relationship between Iran and Iraq and said that both nations share many affinities, so ties between the two countries should be strengthened.

He went on to say that in a written proposal to the Tehran Municipality six months ago, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry had called for the signing of a sister city agreement between Tehran and Baghdad.

Al-Issawi expressed hope that Tehran would agree to the proposal in the near future.

Due to the negligence of the collapsed Baath regime over the past three decades, Baghdad has become a wreck, and now it is the main duty of the Baghdad Municipality to revive the city by offering infrastructure services to all parts of the metropolis, he added.

Despite the dangerous security situation, the Baghdad Municipality has initiated a number of projects in the city, al-Issawi said.

The mayor of Tehran said that rebuilding the infrastructure is one of the most important priorities of the Baghdad Municipality because the lack of this infrastructure can create many problems for people.

“The Baghdad Municipality’s duty in providing the basic needs of Iraqis and compensating for the former deprivations is much more complicated than before,” he noted.

At the end of the meeting, Qalibaf invited his Iraqi counterpart to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the Resalat Tunnel, which was scheduled to take place later in the day.

During their stay in Tehran, the Baghdad mayor and his delegation are free to visit different districts and urban projects with no restrictions, Qalibaf explained.