TEHRAN – Iranian Vice President Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaii, who is currently in Amman to attend the Middle East Tourism Conference, met with Jordanian Prime Minister Maaruf al-Bakhit on Sunday.

During the meeting, the Jordanian premier said that Jordan respects the Islamic Republic and is interested in expanding bilateral relations with Iran through the establishment of joint commissions.

He also underlined the necessity of developing relations in the field of tourism and said that besides familiarizing the two nations with each other, it would also be economically beneficial.

Al-Bakhit stated that the recent incidents in Iraq were an outrage and called for increased cooperation and consultation between Iran and Jordan in order to neutralize the plots being implemented in Iraq.

He also said that Iran is wisely dealing with the recent crises in the region.

For his part, Rahim-Mashaii, who is also the director of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, said that high-ranking Iranian officials, and particularly President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, are eager to deepen cooperation with Islamic and Arab countries.

Expressing satisfaction over the level of relations between Iran and Jordan, the Iranian vice president nevertheless stated that efforts should be made to increase bilateral cooperation in light of the capabilities of the two countries.

On the foreign military presence in the region, Rahim-Mashaii said that neighboring countries must cooperate with each other to solve regional problems.