TEHRAN -- President Ebrahim Raisi says Iran has always laid emphasis on the unity and integrity of neighboring Iraq, expressing hope for the formation of a powerful government in the Arab country.
In a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Raisi said he hoped that Iraq’s political process, which started with last year’s parliamentary elections, would lead to the establishment of a strong government as soon as possible.
Iraq has so far failed to elect a new president due to a lack of quorum in the parliament, prolonging a bitter deadlock in Iraqi politics months after a general election considerably changed the make-up of the parliament.
In another phone conversation with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Raisi said Palestine is an important issue in the Muslim world.
“Muslim countries must have cohesion and unity in defending the struggles of the Palestinian people” against Israeli occupation, the Iranian president added.
Referring to the two countries’ diverse capacities, he noted that Tehran and Jakarta can develop relations in all fields through joint efforts to activate their potentialities.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran seeks to promote its relations, with the priority of friendly countries, in regional and international fields,” Raisi said.
The Indonesian president, for his part, said his country is keen to boost bilateral, regional and international cooperation with Iran, especially in the fields of energy and health.
Widodo added that Iran and Indonesia have cultural commonalities and close stances on regional and international issues, including their support the Palestinian people’s goals.
Earlier, Raisi called for expansion of bilateral relations between Iran and Kuwait, saying the two countries need to upgrade their bilateral cooperation through more reciprocal visits.
In a phone conversation with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the president touched on the history of Iran-Kuwait relations, saying the two neighbors should restore their ties to their real capacity.
Raisi also hailed Kuwait’s “wise” stance on the regional developments, especially normalization with the occupying regime of Israel.
For his part, Sheikh Nawaf praised the Iranian administration’s emphasis on boosting relations with the neighboring countries and expressed hope to host President Raisi in Kuwait soon.
“Meetings between the officials of the two countries, especially the high-ranking officials, can help expand relations between the two countries and strengthen joint efforts to secure mutual benefits,” he said.
On Monday, President Raisi held phone talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which he urged all Muslim countries to push for an end to Zionist atrocities against the Palestinian people.
“It is necessary for us to make every effort to stop the inhumane attacks of the Zionist regime on the Palestinian people through collective efforts among Muslim countries and making use of various international capacities,” he said.
Raisi said Iran is determined to promote relations with the regional states, particularly Turkey.
Erdogan, for his part, said he is willing to pay a visit to Tehran and hold talks with Iranian officials on regional and international developments as well as ways to expand relations, especially trade between the two countries.
In another phone call with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Iranian president expressed hope that peace and security would be established across the Muslim world.
The presidents of Iran and Tajikistan on Sunday stressed the need for coordination between the two countries to ensure regional security.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that security and prosperity of the people of Tajikistan is security and prosperity of the Iranian people,” Raeisi told Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon during a phone conversation.
The Iranian president emphasized the need to develop security coordination between the two countries, adding Tehran is concerned about security situation in the region, especially in Afghanistan.
Raisi hailed growing economic relations between the two countries and invited the Tajik president to visit Iran, which he said would play an effective role in improving bilateral and regional interactions.