Iran, India FMS hold ‘productive’ talks in Tehran
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held a meeting in Tehran on Tuesday which was described by New Delhi’s top diplomat as “productive”.
“A productive meeting with FM @ Jzarif during a stopover in Tehran. Discussed strengthening our bilateral cooperation and reviewed regional developments,” the Indian minister tweeted.
Jaishankar made a stopover in the Iranian capital on his way to Russia for a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
The SCO is a Eurasian political and economic organization that was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and India are its main members, while Iran, Mongolia, Afghanistan, and Belarus are observers.
Zarif said in a tweet that they “discussed expansion of bilateral relations and trade, and exchanged views on important regional issues.”
“Our active engagement with our neighborhood is our top priority,” Iran’s top diplomat wrote.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh also said that “the two sides emphasized on their will to further expand the bilateral ties in all aspects”.
Seyyed Rasoul Mousavi, the head of the West Asia Department at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, wrote in a post published on his Twitter page that Zarif and Jaishankar usually tend to exchange viewpoints on a vast array of issues, especially considering that India will join the UN Security Council as a nonpermanent member for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2021, according to Press TV.
Jaishankar was the second senior Indian minister to travel to Iran in less than a week.
On Sunday, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh visited Tehran, where he held “very fruitful” talks his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Amir Hatami.
Singh said in a tweet that they exchanged views on regional security, including Afghanistan, and the issues of bilateral cooperation. He also posted pictures of his meeting with Hatami in Tehran.
The Indian defense chief was earlier in Moscow on a three-day visit to Russia, where he attended a meeting of the SCO defense ministers.
New Delhi is seeking to work more closely with Tehran to increase the economic viability of Iran’s strategic Chabahar port off the Sea of Oman and to facilitate trade access to Afghanistan and other Central Asia nations as well as Russia.