Tehran, Aug 6 (FN Bureau) External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday met Iran’s new President Ebrahim Raisi and conveyed the personal greetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “A warm meeting with President Ebrahim Raisi after his assumption of office. Conveyed the personal greetings of PM @narendramodi. His commitment to strengthening our bilateral relationship was manifest. So too was the convergence in our regional interest,” Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting, a day after he attended the swearing-in ceremony of Raisi.
During the meeting, the Iranian President said that Tehran attaches special importance to establishing extensive relations with India. “From today on, we should take new and distinct steps in the development of bilateral, regional and international relations with a new perspective,” he said. Raisi said that the Iranian government will pursue a policy of developing relations with neighbouring countries and the region, especially India, saying, “There are various sectors, especially in the economic and commercial fields, as well as new technologies, that we should use to promote the level of our relations”. Emphasising the need for a joint programme to increase the level of Tehran-New Delhi relations, Raisi said, “By moving in the direction of a joint cooperation programme, we can take steps to bring about different conditions at the level of relations between the two countries in the interests of the two nations”.
The President also stressed the importance of close cooperation and coordination between the two countries in developing peace and stability in the region. He said, “Iran and India can play a constructive and useful role in ensuring security in the region, especially Afghanistan, and Tehran welcomes New Delhi’s role in establishment of security in Afghanistan”. “The fate of Afghanistan must be decided by the Afghans themselves, and we believe that if the Americans do not sabotage the situation, this issue will be resolved quickly,” Raisi added. Welcoming Raisi’s speech at the swearing-in ceremony regarding the Iranian government’s will to develop relations with neighbouring countries, Jaishankar said, “I will convey your views to the President and Prime Minister of India, and we will try to maximise our cooperation”, according to a statement from the Iranian President’s Office. Jaishankar added, “The current level of relations is not favourable and we are determined to establish long-term cooperation in the interests of our nations, given the serious will of the Iranian side”. This was the second meeting between the leaders of the two nations in one month. Jaishankar had met Raisi, then president-elect, on July 7 during a stopover at the Iranian capital on his way to Russia.