Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari made the remarks in his meeting with the visiting head of delegation of the Indian National Defense University (INDU) in Tehran on Tuesday evening and stated that security of the region could be provided by the regional countries themselves and there is no need for the presence of extra-regional countries.
Emphasizing the significance of the geopolitical specifications and position of the two countries of Iran and India, Rear Admiral Sayyari stated that having shared commonalities in the geopolitical interests of the two countries (including mutual regional cooperation, managing substructure of the Indian Ocean, maritime environment, combating maritime terrorism, piracy and maritime smuggling, non-intrusion of extra-regional powers, energy security and many others) can lay the ground for expanding bilateral cooperation.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he pointed to some of the salient specifications of the Indian Ocean and added that 20% of the world's water belongs to the Indian Ocean, and 17 countries have access to it through smaller waterways.
He then pointed to some of the interaction and cooperation between Islamic Republic of Iran and Republic of India, such as common security considerations, common interests in the field of energy, Iran's suitable position in India's access to Central Asia, and the key role of Chabahar in the North-South Corridor and added that joint air and naval military exercises, exchange of professors and students, cooperation in education and defense technology, and cooperation in scientific, research and consulting services are among the other cases that have been taken into serious consideration in the military cooperation between the two countries.
The head of the delegation of Indian National Defense University, for his part, expressed his thanks to Rear Admiral Sayyari for his special emphasis on the regional and international issues especially the necessity of development of regional cooperation between Iran and India and said that Indian people have a positive view about the Islamic Republic of Iran.
It is hoped that cooperation between Iran and India would further be developed on the relevant field, he added.
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