Ayatollah Khamenei received Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang on Tuesday. Mr. Sang is in a tour of Iran to discuss bilateral trade and improvements in relations, among other things.
Ayatollah Khamenei extended accolade to ‘Vietnamese resistance’ against ‘hegemonic powers’ which had always sought to ‘intervene in affairs of small countries,’ and to sow discord among them; “prominent military leaders such as Generals Võ Nguyên Giáp and Ho Chi Minh and national solidarity during Vietnam War have presented an image of the country to Iranian people which lionizes your country as heroic and highly respected,” said the Leader, who believed that the only way to counteract the unwanted interventions was improving cooperation and partnership between the peripheral countries.
“Iran’s official line of policy is that of partnership and cooperation with Southeast Asian countries especially Vietnam; we closely watch your contribution to international community and believe we should improve relations to maximum levels possible,” Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized.
Mr. Sang who was accompanied to the meeting by President Rouhani, his Iranian counterpart, for his part expressed gratitude for Leader’s complimentary remarks on Vietnamese people during the war; “Vietnamese embraced freedom and independence after decades of resistance against foreign intervention; we have supported Iran in international community, especially during the country’s nuclear negotiations with world powers; we recognized for Iran the right to peaceful nuclear industry and will have the same position in the future as well,” he told the meeting.
“We have similar positions about the necessity of bilateral ties and hope that Iran sees Vietnam as one of its strategic partners,” he concluded.
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