President Raisi Calls for Asian Convergence

Date: 14 October 2022 - 21:53

News ID: ۱۰۷۸۰۱

TEHRAN -- President Ebrahim Raisi has said the “new Asia” in the modern world requires cooperation to develop an endogenous pattern for independent states to overcome security, economic, media and cyber challenges.
Designing such a pattern “is particularly important in establishing a common financial system and using regional currencies, designing norms and regulations for combating terrorism as well as strengthening media cooperation,” he told the 6th Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Astana Thursday.
He said countries nurturing terrorism and bullying powers that have taken the global financial system hostage and continue to loot the wealth of other nations cannot serve as trustworthy partners in shaping the emerging order.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns and confronts terrorism in any form, including economic terrorism which seeks to block the economic development of independent countries,” he said, adding persistent and collective cooperation is required to combat economic terrorism as a threat to the entire world.
The world today, the president said, “needs a more effective role of regional mechanisms to create more opportunities for the objective interaction of international players and the peaceful settlement of regional and global issues.”
Iran will definitely become a steadfast partner in pursuing and strengthening “multilateralism based on justice”, Raisi added.
Tehran believes in securing common interests of independent countries through cooperation and will continue this strategy regardless of international developments, the president said.
“This approach will increase cooperation among governments, welfare of nations and regional confidence,” the president added.
He said CICA, as an effective mechanism, has played an unparalleled role in promoting peace, security and sustainable development among Asian nations since it

is based on mutual trust, common interests, equality and respect for cultural diversities.
The president further warned that unilateralism continues plotting to destabilize countries, hinder their progress, and block convergence among independent nations.
“This important issue indicates that convergence and security in Asia are not compatible with the interests of hegemonic countries and any attempt to destabilize independent nations has goals and consequences beyond national geographies, and in fact, aims to target the stability and prosperity of regional countries,” he said.
On his return to Tehran, President Raisi censured Western governments’ interference in the West Asia region, saying foreign meddling cannot be a solution to regional problems and only exacerbates them.
He underscored the “endogenous nature of security” in Asia and said the intervention of foreign countries is not the “solution to the region’s problems.”
“The interference of foreign powers in the Asia region adds to the problems and this was the main issue that we raised at the SICA summit.”
Pointing to the promotion of bilateral relations with Kazakhstan, Raisi said the Kazakh president’s visit to Iran and his mutual visit to the country along with participation at regional summits and meetings will expand the level of relations and cooperation between the two countries.
“In meetings with Kazakh officials, we set an amount of about three billion dollars for economic and commercial development, which requires that the officials and economic activists try to reach this cap,” the Iranian president said.
Raisi also described the cancellation of 14-day visas for Iranian and Kazakh economic activists as one of the achievements of his trip.
In Astana, the president had separate meetings with the Qatari emir and the president of Azerbaijan on the sidelines of the CICA summit.
CICA — an inter-governmental forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia — is comprised of different countries including Iran, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, South Korea, China, Russia, India, Palestine, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan Republic, and Thailand.