Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani held talks with his Croatian counterpart Josip Leko in the Iranian capital city of Tehran on Saturday and attended a joint press conference afterwards.
“I am of the belief that proper conditions have been provided for economic, scientific and cultural cooperation between Iran and Croatia,” said Ali Larijani to media.
He added that during the meeting with Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko, various ways to expand joint investment and boosting trade volumes were discussed and it was decided negotiations between the two countries would continue both in the chamber of commerce and by the respective ministers.
“Parliamentary relations between Tehran and Zagreb are very friendly and we intend to use this potential to further cooperation in other fields,” said Larijani, adding the two sides also discussed regional issues including terrorism.
The Croatian official, for his part, said the political ties between Iran and Croatia has always been good even during the era of sanctions against the Islamic Republic, expressing hope for further cooperation in economic, cultural and scientific fields.
“It is true that Croatia is a member of the European Union, but it does not disregard its relations with other countries and our interests in this part of the world are closer to those of Iran’s,” said Josip Leko.
The Saturday meeting was the third time Ali Larijni and Josip Leko had met.
Elsewhere, the Iranian senior official touched upon the tragic incident of Mina which left 465 Iranians killed, saying “I have written a message on the incident to the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUOICMS) and the issue is currently being pursued there.”
In a message addressed to all his Muslim counterparts on Sep. 28, Larijani urged immediate formation of a fact-finding committee to follow up on the tragic event in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, which claimed the life of more than 5,000 Hajj pilgrims.
The Iranian Leader Ayat. Khamenei on Wednesday stressed that Iran’s response would be 'firm' and 'severe' in the face of the Saudi authorities' failure in doing their duties; “they [Saudis] should understand though that disrespect of thousands of Iranian pilgrims in Mecca and Medina would precipitate Iran’s ‘severe and strong’ reaction,” the Leader said.
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