The Khuzestan and Maysan cooperation memorandum enters its operational phase with Khuzestan named lead partner for urban reconstruction

At a meeting held in Ahvaz on the evening of Thursday, 30 July 2026 (8 Mordad 1405) to follow up implementation of the cooperation memorandum between Iran's Khuzestan province and Iraq's Maysan province, Shahla Amouri, secretary of the Khuzestan government and private sector dialogue council and head of the Ahvaz Chamber of Commerce, said that under the approved roadmap the cooperation phases in trade, agriculture and related industries are now operational, and that Khuzestan is recognised as the lead partner province for Maysan in reconstruction and urban development.

She said the Iraqi side has come to Khuzestan to buy products and services directly, drawing on budgets allocated by Iraq's central government. One of the key agreed areas is supplying the equipment needed to develop Maysan's urban spaces; part of that demand, in urban fittings and modern lighting systems, can be met by companies based in Khuzestan's industrial estates. On technical and engineering services, Khuzestan's agriculture and soil science specialists have declared themselves ready to send expert teams for soil improvement and pressurised irrigation management.

Javad Kazemnasab Albaji, deputy for economic coordination at the Khuzestan governorate, told the same meeting that the allocation of a specific budget by Iraq's central government has cleared the way for urban renovation and development projects in Maysan, with the equipping of urban spaces prioritised in the first phase. The size of the allocated budget was not disclosed at the meeting. Iraq is Iran's largest non oil export market, and the share won by small and medium sized industries in Iran's border provinces is one of the direct channels of foreign currency into the regional economy.