David Jalagania is in Tehran and had a meeting with Morteza Sarmadi on Saturday. Mr. Zarif is visiting Southeast Asian and Pacific countries in a long tour which will culminated in his visit to Australia. Mr. Zarif is the first Iranian official who visits the country within 15 years.
In the absence of Mr. Zarif, Mr. Sarmadi discussed with Georgian foreign minister bilateral matters of interest and possible improvements to bilateral relations in the new era of post-JCPOA.
Mr. Sarmadi criticized some countries in the region who, he believed, viewed and actually used terrorism as a foreign policy instrument; “however, terrorism would backfire, hitting those countries in turn,” he said.
On trade between north and south, deputy-FM said that the project was a priority for Iran which would connect Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman to land-locked countries in Central Asia; “it will also include energy trade and transportation as a strategic good of the region,” he told his counterpart.
Sarmadi also believed that fighting extremism and terrorism provided all countries with common grounds to cooperate; he reiterated Iran’s well-principled policy of helping regional conflict to a peaceful settlement based on three principles of a serious resolve to fight terrorism, an end to foreign intervention, and recognizing the right to nations to decide for their political future.
Mr. Jalagania for his part, expressed gratitude to lavish welcome to him upon his arrival and believed that a new era of cooperation had already kicked off after JCPOA entered its implementation day and sanctions were removed; “Iran is an influential country and Tbilisi regards the country highly; we hope to find better conditions in bilateral ties in times post-JCPOA. Georgia welcomes Iranian businesses coming to our country, bringing them investments to contribute positively to the economy; we also hail participation in the so-called north-south corridor pioneered by Iran as a key to transformation of the region to a global hub of energy,” he added.
Jalagania confirmed Sarmadi’s words on respecting international law and giving the chance to countries in crisis to actually decide about their own political future.
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