Head of Strategic Research Center Ali Akbar Velayati, who is staying in Singapore to attend the 3rd South Asian Diaspora Convention (SADC) with a focus on South Asian investment opportunities, met and talked with Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Tuesday morning.
The two sides dealt with the issues raised during the conference emphasizing the need for cooperation between Asian countries in various arenas.
The meeting also evaluated Iran-Singapore ties as positive calling for efforts in expanding venues for mutual collaboration.
Velayati, while pointing to abundance of economic opportunities in the region particularly between Iran and Singapore, said “the two parties possess invaluable grounds for reinvigoration of relations especially in economic, transit and energy areas which need to be exploited with careful planning.”
“Besides economic potentials, Iran and Singapore can also benefit from cultural and social commonalities in strengthening bilateral ties,” noted the official calling for practical steps towards growth and development by focusing on shared points.
In response to a question on regional conditions, Velayati referred to the role of Iran in supporting official governments asserting “the Islamic Republic of Iran spares no effort in putting a stop to isolating and schismatic plots as it has faithfully stood against regional threats.”
“Iran possesses a momentous role in the region and strengthening of central governments in Iraq and Syria has brought about greater victories for these regional states,” highlighted Ali Akbar Velayati.
He rejected use of power and force to change official government maintaining “elections and votes by people need to be respected as valid means for choosing their governments.”
Given the continuous developments in the region, Iran’s Velayati also pointed to the significance of information exchange and collaboration in resolving regional issues.
Singaporean Deputy PM Tharman Shanmugaratnam, for his part, touched upon some regional developments, the need to confront terrorism as well as the recent visits of Iranian foreign and labor ministers to the East Asian country; “the Islamic Republic of Iran and Singapore could boost ties at various levels especially in economic fields.”
“Iran enjoys a strategic and noteworthy position while Singapore is looking forward to bolstering relations with other countries,” said the Shanmugaratnam.
Javad Ansari, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Singapore, also presented a brief report to the meeting on cooperation between the two countries as well as future prospects.
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