Cooperation in Persian Gulf region should replace hostility

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani made the remarks in a meeting with his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, on Thursday.

Emphasizing the unchanging foreign policy strategy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in comprehensive, continuous and constructive cooperation with its neighbors, he said that in order to overcome the existing challenges, the continuation of which is not in the interest of any country in the region, hostility and divergence should be replaced by cooperation and convergence.

Shamkhani called the existence of differences and mistrust among the countries of the Persian Gulf region a serious obstacle to the economic development of the region, adding, “We should try to increase the security, peace and well-being of the people of the region through dialogue and interaction and expanding political, security, economic and cultural cooperation as well as preventing foreigners from playing a non-constructive role.”

He called all the countries of the region members of a big family, saying, “Family disputes must be resolved through dialogue, goodwill and tolerance so that we can all move towards creating a strong and developed region based on collective participation.”

The exchange of economic, commercial and investment capacities is one of the main priorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran with its neighbors, Shamkhani underlined.

Iran’s top security official termed his visit to Abu Dhabi a turning point for the two countries to begin a new stage of political, economic and security relations considering the suitable platforms that have been created for the development of relations between Iran and the UAE.

Sheikh Tahnoon, for his part, said that cooperation and friendship with the great and powerful country of Iran are very important for the UAE.

Congratulating the recent agreement reached between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he added that the agreement has a constructive role in the expansion of peace, stability and sustainable security in the region.

The development of relations between Abu Dhabi and Tehran is among the priorities of the UAE, the Emirati official said.

Referring to his visit to Tehran, Sheikh Tahnoon stressed the need to activate the agreements reached and also to speed up the process of exchanging economic capacities between the two countries in the fields of banking, transit, energy, transportation, healthcare and investment.

He expressed hope that Shamkhani’s trip to Abu Dhabi will become a turning point in the relations between the two countries and lead to the acceleration of the promotion of Tehran-Abu Dhabi cooperation.

Heading a high economic, banking and security delegation, Shamkhani left Tehran for Abu Dhabi on Thursday morning.

Speaking to reporters before departing Tehran, Ali Shamkhani expressed hope that a stable and secure region would be achievable through regional cooperation.

Shamkhani’s visit to Abu Dhabi comes less than a week after Iran and Saudi Arabia announced the normalization of their ties following several days of hectic deliberations between Shamkhani and his Saudi Arabian counterpart in Beijing.

MNA/IRN85059281