Iranian President Meets Kazakh, Uzbek Counterparts in Astana
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held separate meetings with his Kazakh and Uzbek counterparts, exchanging views about a range of issues, including ways to boost bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic and the two Central Asian countries.
In his meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev held in Astana on Sunday on the sidelines of the First OIC Summit on Science and Technology, Rouhani hailed Kazakhstan as an important regional country and said bilateral ties between Tehran and Astana have been growing over the past 25 years.
Iran welcomes closer cooperation with Kazakhstan, he said, adding that the two countries have always had constructive cooperation on topics of mutual interest.
In the session, the two presidents also underlined the two countries’ serious determination to develop cooperation in all economic fields, including transit and energy.
In a separate meeting with his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, also on Sunday, President Rouhani said Iran sees no obstacle in the way to deepen its bilateral relations with Uzbekistan as “a friendly country”.
Rouhani also pointed to the great capacities of the two countries and said Iran welcomes the active presence of Uzbek investors and entrepreneurs in the Islamic Republic.
Mirziyoyev, for his part, called for closer cooperation between Tehran and Tashkent in all areas, ranging from academic ties to energy and counter-terrorism fields.
Heading a high-ranking delegation, Rouhani was in Astana on Saturday and Sunday to take part in the First OIC Summit on Science and Technology that opened in the Kazakh capital on Sunday.
During his two-day visit to Kazakhstan, Rouhani met with some heads of state of the Muslim countries.
