At a joint meeting in Tehran, Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli welcomed Cesar Navas, his Ecuadorian counterpart, and said “both countries, in addition to maintaining mutually beneficial bilateral relations, have always adopted similar positions towards international developments.” He further appreciated Ecuador’s excellent positions on some regional or international issues.
The official later pointed out that the volume of trade turnover between the two countries was below satisfactory noting “a great capacity exists for enhancing the level of economic and trade cooperation between the two sides which will hopefully grow by forming closer ties between private sectors.”
Iran’s interior minister went on to state that, prior to the JCPOA, due to unfair sanctions against Iran, the possibility of developing trade relations between the two countries was weak, one main reasons being restrictions imposed by sanctions on banking and brokerage relations, but now with sanctions lifted, we can rapidly increase our business ties.
Rahmani Fazli, while stressing Iran’s readiness to deepen and expand trade and economic cooperation, pointed out that the Interior Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran was ready to share its invaluable experiences in the field of counter-narcotics, security issues, border control and police-related issues.
He also touched upon constructive participation of women in social activities and political positions in both Iran and Ecuador explaining that “presence and role of women in the society and among political authorities can be of great help in securing communities and strengthening the family to deal with some phenomena like narcotics which are gaining an increasing consumption rate among teenagers.”
Interior Minister of Ecuador Cesar Navas, for his part, voiced satisfaction towards his visit to Iran on the occasion of Dr. Rouhani’s inauguration and said “I am carrying warm greetings of the president and foreign minister of Ecuador for the Iranian government and nation. It was very important for the Ecuadorian government to be present at the inauguration ceremony of the Iranian president.”
He said numerous common points existed between the two countries adding that Ecuador was situated between two major producers of narcotic drugs who had turned it into a drug transit site. Trafficking in narcotic drugs involves other crimes such as smuggling human beings or use of children for drug trafficking.
“We have developed a national plan to combat drug trafficking and drug use, and we can take advantage of Iran’s experiences in the area of women and family issues,” he continued.
Navas said Iran and Ecuador had always held good ties though a need was felt for reinvigoration of bilateral cooperation.
HA/4050549
Your Comment