IRNA - Iraqi Construction Minister Bangen Rekani said Baghdad is keen to cooperate with Iran on remodelling the country's housing sector.

'Iran is an ancient country with deep roots that has its own style in construction and architecture and we are eager to cooperate in this regard,' Rekani said in a meeting with Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi.

'We are keen on expanding our cooperation, and we will follow up several proposals such as waste management and recycling,' he added.

He lamented that Iranian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) haven�t taken up a big share of the Iraqi construction market in comparison to other foreign firms.

Hanachi stressed that Iraq should swiftly develop plans to construct metro lines as Baghdad's population is growing. �From an strategic point of view, we ought to have started Tehran's metro when the capital's population surpassed one million people. In Tehran, we started late. It seems that Baghdad metro has been delayed as well,� he added.

Tehran mayor is on a visit to Iraq at the invitation of Baghdad mayor Zekra Alwash. He has held high-level talks with Baghdad Governorate officials.