TEHRAN – President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday hoped for expansion of cooperation between Tehran and Tokyo, whose historical relations he said have been founded upon mutual trust and respect.
The Iranian president sent separate messages to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Emperor Naruhito to congratulate them on the national holiday celebrating the birthday of the reigning emperor.
In his congratulatory message to the Japanese emperor, Raisi expressed hope for enhancement of “historical and friendly” ties between Iran and Japan, which have been based upon mutual trust and respect.
In his other letter, the president expressed hope that the Japanese government’s policies would result in closer cooperation between the two countries and stronger interaction between their authorities.
In a telephone conversation in early February, Raisi and Kishida stressed their resolve for development of relations between the two countries.
“Tehran and Tokyo can play an effective role in creating and promoting peace and stability in the region and the world by strengthening joint cooperation,” the Iranian president said.
President Raisi also hoped for enhancement of economic and trade relations between Tehran and Brunei Darussalam.
In a message to Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah, Raisi warmly congratulated the Southeast Asian country on its national day.
He also expressed confidence that the sultan of Brunei’s special attention to relations between the two nations would result in promotion of cooperation between the two Muslim countries in all fields, particularly the economic and trade relations.
Brunei is an independent sultanate on the island of Borneo in the Malay Archipelago. The sultanate gained independence in 1984 and observes its national day each year on February 23.
Separately, President Raisi expressed Iran’s readiness to provide Mozambique with technical knowledge and other experiences.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always had good relations with African countries and today, based on this constructive view of Iran to Africa, we are ready to expand cooperation with the continent,” Raisi said in a meeting with his Mozambiquean counterpart Filipe Nyusi on the sidelines of a gas summit in Qatar on Tuesday.
“Iran sees African countries filled with talents and rich resources, which have unfortunately been plundered by Western countries for the past few centuries,” the president added.
Raisi said, “The rise of insecurity and activities of terrorist groups in recent years in some African countries is rooted in Western and American interference. The confession of former U.S. officials to creating Daesh is a testimony to this claim.”
Nyusi expressed his country’s interest in deepening relations with Iran.
“We have a lot of natural resources that we can use for the benefit of the Mozambican people and for development with the help of Iranian experts.”
He said one of the serious problems in Mozambique is the spread of insecurity and terrorism, which is mainly directed and controlled from outside the country.