TEHRAN - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi says member states of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) enjoy great capacities that can bring about economic prosperity in the region, calling for efforts to remove the stumbling blocks to closer ties within the Asian politico-economic bloc.
In a meeting with ECO Secretary General Khusrav Noziri in Tehran on Tuesday, Raisi said Iran supported the enhancement of the organization’s activities and attached special importance to cooperation among regional countries.
The Iranian president stressed the importance of identifying and removing any obstacles in the way of enhancing relations among the intergovernmental body’s member countries ahead of the 15th ECO summit, which is scheduled to be held in Turkmenistan on November 28.
“Any kind of obstacle and problem on the path of developing cooperation must be removed so that economic exchanges and interactions among ECO member countries will reach a higher and superior level,” he added.
“Each member of the ECO has a lot of economic potential in various fields, the activation of which can lead to economic prosperity in the region,” the Iranian president said.
He drew attention to ECO member countries’ capacities in the fields of energy, trade, transportation, digital economy, maritime economy and tourism, saying comprehensive plans of the organization’s secretariat to activate such potentialities can lead to the region’s economic prosperity and development of ECO states.
Noziri, for his part, also outlined plans and preparations made for the ECO Summit in Turkmenistan.
In a meeting with the ECO secretary general in Tehran last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian hailed the implementation of a number of long-term and infrastructure projects by the ECO in various fields, including transportation, trade, monetary and banking sections, and expressed hope that the remaining plans would be completed during the tenure of Noziri, who took office in August.

Raisi Urges Netherlands’ Independence From Hegemonic Powers’ Influence

And also on Tuesday, in a meeting with new Ambassador of the Netherlands to Iran Frank Mollen, Iranian President underlined the need for the expansion of cooperation between Tehran and Amsterdam in different fields, and called on the Netherlands not to be affected by the hegemonic powers’ influence.
In the meeting, Mollen submitted his credentials to the Iranian president.
President Raisi stressed age-old relations between Iran and the Netherlands, and said countries like the Netherlands with deep-rooted history should remain independent and not be affected by the hegemonic moves.
Referring to the existence of hundreds of mosques in the Netherlands, the president said respect for the rights of Muslims can lead to developing the culture in Europe.
Raisi added that the hegemonic system has used the issue of human rights as a tool for putting pressure on the developing states.
And this is while the Islamic Republic, due to following its Revolution and religious guidelines, has a duty to respect people’s rights as it has been hosting four million Afghans in Iran for years, he stressed.
Mollen, for his part, said the two countries have a four-hundred-year background of relations and Iran has always been an important trade destination for the Netherlands.
Describing Iran as a powerful country in the region, the envoy said there are good opportunities for fostering bilateral relations in trade and investment.
Speaking about the situation in Afghanistan, the ambassador appreciated Iran for hosting a large number of Afghan migrants.
President Raisi also on Tuesday received a copy of credential letters of a number of other newly-appointed ambassadors to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The ambassadors of Spain, the Vatican, and New Zealand to Iran submitted their credentials to President Raisi.
During the meeting of Spain’s new ambassador to Tehran, the
 president emphasized Iran’s will is to develop economic, political, cultural, and sporting relations with Spain, adding that there are good capacities in the two states to promote relations.
Also during his meeting with the Vatican’s new ambassador, President Raisi said that if those who oppress the world today pay attention to the teachings of Christ, they will no longer commit oppression and the Vatican can play an active role in this regard.
While receiving a copy of the credential letter of the New Zealand ambassador, President Raisi stressed development of relations between Tehran and Wellington.