TEHRAN, Oct. 10 (MNA) – Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and his Kazakh counterpart, Nurlan Nigmatulin, met on Tuesday on the sidelines of the third Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries' Parliaments in Antalya, Turkey.

In the meeting with his counterpart, Larijani lauded Kazakhstan’s significant role in maintaining peace and security in the region.

Referring to Kazakhstan’s major role in holding the Astana meetings to settle the crisis in Syria, the official noted, “Kazakhstan is a pioneer in solving the regional issues and is a factor of maintaining peace.”

Reminding that the two countries enjoy a good history of relations, Larijani welcomed expansion of ties with the neighboring country, saying “Kazakhstan can help promote mutual relations by investing in Iran’s [economic sector].”

He stressed the need to enhance economic cooperation between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union.

Nigmatulin, for his part, said “expansion of relations with Iran is a priority” for his respective government.

“Iran is one of the main partners of Kazakhstan in the Middle East, which enjoys great economic and political capacities, and we are willing to boost our ties with Tehran,” he added.

The senior officials are attending the two-day event in Antalya where speakers of 20 countries’ parliaments and delegations from 17 Asian and European countries are taking part to discuss cooperation on economic and environmental issues, and sustainable development.

The meeting is organized under the theme "Economic Cooperation, Environment and Sustainable Development in Eurasia”, and aims to evaluate the obstacles facing sustainable development at a global and regional level, and to increase international cooperation to remove them.

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