Tashkent, Sept 7, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and
his accompanying party left Tashkent for Dushanbe Friday after a
two-day stay in Uzbekistan.
In a pre-departure interview with IRNA, Kharrazi said great
strides were taken during his Uzbekistan visit to promote the
Iran-Uzbekistan bilateral ties and appropriate grounds do exist now
for the two states to embark on economic, scientific and cultural
cooperation.
A critical step was taken in favor of the private sectors of the
two countries to get involved in the trade and economic ties, he
stressed.
The Iranian delegation held ground breaking talks with the Uzbek
officials on the regional security and the fight against the illicit
drug trafficking, he added.
He turned to the agreements already inked between Iran and
Uzbekistan and said the two sides stressed the implementation of
these agreements with a new emphasis on the cooperation in the
economic and industrial arenas.
Talking also to IRNA, the Uzbek foreign minister termed as very
positive Kharrazi's Uzbekistan visit and added that the two states
would push forward with their consultations on an array of issues of
mutual interest.
Kharrazi, heading a high-ranking economic, political and cultural
delegation, entered Tashkent Thursday for a two-day state visit for
talks on mutual cooperation. The visit is the first by an Iranian
foreign minister to the Central Asian country.
The Iranian foreign minister Thursday conferred with several Uzbek
top-brass officials including President Askar Akayev, Foreign Minister
Abdulaziz Komilov and Prime Minister Utkir Sultanov.
On Friday he held talks with Minister of Macro-economy and
statistics and academics to respond to their questions on the
regional issues. Kharrazi was in Kyrgyzstan Wednesday, where he
discussed the situation in Afghanistan and regional security with
officials.
Iran FM arrives in Dushanbe
Dushanbe, Sept 7, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi
arrived in Dushanbe, Tajikistan capital, Friday at the head of a
high-ranking parliamentary and political delegation and was welcomed
by his Tajik counterpart Talbak Nazarov at the airport.
Upon arrival at the Dushanbe airport, he told reporters that he is
to hold talks with Tajik officials on boosting the bilateral ties in
the economic and political areas as well as boosting cooperation on
promoting regional peace and security.
Kharrazi congratulated the Tajik people and government on the
10th independence anniversary of Tajikistan. He said he was
pleased with the "excellent" level of and pace of progress in the
Iran-Tajikistan relations in the various areas.
Kharrazi said the regional security and peace would contribute to
Iran's national security and that's why Iran is making efforts to
promote peace and security in the region.
He added that the regional security would bring about a developed
economic ties among the regional states. Kharrazi is due to hold
significant talks with Tajik President Imomali Rakhmanov.
Before arriving in Tajikistan, Kharrazi visited Uzbekistan where
he held talks with several Uzbek top-brass officials including
President Askar Akayev, Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov and Prime
Minister Utkir Sultanov.
On Friday he held talks with Uzbek Minister of Macro-economy and
statistics and academics to respond to their questions on the
regional issues. Kharrazi was in Kyrgyzstan Wednesday, where he
discussed the situation in Afghanistan and regional security with
officials.
... Payvand News - 9/7/01 ... --
