TEHRAN— During an official visit to Hungary, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani said on Thursday that the Islamic Republic is ready to rejoin the global energy market and bring “energy security” to the global market.

Bagheri Kani made the remarks in a meeting with managers of a group of Hungarian companies

The Company managers elaborated on their initiatives for expansion of economic relations between Budapest and Tehran. They expressed their readiness for a more active participation in Iran’s large trade and economic market. 

There are good grounds for cooperation in all fields, especially energy, agriculture, medicine, and management of water resources, the company officials suggested. 

“Given the alignment between Iran and Hungary in opposing war, and given that Iran is Russia’s neighbor and Hungary is that of Ukraine, efforts should be made for a shift in the current situation in Europe from ‘armed conflict’ to ‘the negotiating table,’” Iran’s Bagheri Kani suggested.In turn, Bagheri Kani pointed to the continuation of war in Eastern Europe and the dangers posed to energy security in Europe, saying it was believed for many years that countries such as Iran should pay the “price of getting sanctioned,” but the Europeans have now realized that “imposing sanctions has a price to pay as well.” 

If the Europeans fail to revise their unilateral polices, they will have to pay the price of imposing sanctions with inflation and the endangerment of energy security, the top Iranian diplomat pointed out.
 
“Iran stands ready, alongside other providers of energy, to share its active and potential capacities for a return of energy security to the market,” Bagheri Kani added.

Bagheri Kani visits Hungarian parliament

While on a European tour, Bagheri Kani also paid a visit to the Hungarian parliament, where he held a meeting with Zsolt Nemeth, the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee chairman.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister described war in Europe not just as a factor behind the escalation of tensions among European countries but also a threat to global energy and food security.

“Given the alignment between Iran and Hungary in opposing war, and given that Iran is Russia’s neighbor and Hungary is that of Ukraine, efforts should be made for a shift in the current situation in Europe from ‘armed conflict’ to ‘the negotiating table,’” Bagheri Kani suggested.

Bagheri Kani described the Iranian delegation’s visit to the Hungarian parliament as evidence that the Islamic Republic is serious to develop parliamentary ties.

For his part, Nemeth expressed hope for exchanges of parliamentary delegations between the two countries. 
He said Iran’s role in regional security and stability is undeniable and thus Hungary attaches special significance to the strengthening of ties with Tehran.

Bagheri Kani meets Serbian officials 

Continuing his European tour, Bagheri Kani also arrived in Serbia on Friday. He held a meeting with the Serbian Parliament Speaker, Vladimir Orlic.
The two sides discussed enhancement of bilateral cooperation, as well as the latest bilateral, regional and international developments.

While calling the relations between Serbia and Iran long-lasting and friendly, Orlic said that Serbia is determined to develop and promote all-round relations with Iran, calling the parliamentary cooperation between the two countries at a favorable level. 

“The existence of parliamentary friendship groups and the exchange of parliamentary delegations in the past prove this fact,” Orlic added.

He then thanked Iran for its principled approach of respecting the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of countries and demanded the continuation and promotion of interactions and cooperation in regional and international arenas.

The top Serbian legislator also emphasized the need to find appropriate mechanisms to expand economic and commercial cooperation in accordance with political relations.

Orlic also announced his readiness to visit Tehran in response to the invitation of his Iranian counterpart.

For his part, Bagheri Kani said, “Iran places great value on the development of cooperation and the exchange of parliamentary delegations.”

He then pointed to close views and political approaches of the two countries, saying the principled policy of Iran is to support the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of all countries to maintain peace, stability and security. 

There are many capacities and interests to develop cooperation in all fields, Bagheri Kani added, noting that the parties have started a joint and effective effort to solve the problems and obstacles in this regard.

Bagheri also briefed the Serbian side about the latest developments in the negotiations intended to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran’s deputy foreign minister also met Serbia’s State Secretary, Nemanja Starovic.
While expressing his satisfaction with the holding of this round of consultations, Bagheri Kani emphasized the continuation of such meetings and invited Starovic to visit Iran.

Starovic welcomed the invitation and expressed hope that he will travel to Tehran in the near future to continue the consultations.

 ‘Unilateralism should be replaced with multilateralism’

Referring to the common view of Iran and Serbia on many international issues, Bagheri Kani stated, “The continuation of instability in West Asia and its spread even to Europe indicates that the world order based on unilateralism is incapable of establishing stable stability.”
He also noted that it may be to the benefit of unilateralists that insecurity and instability would continue in different parts of the world. 
“Based on this, if humanity wants to see peace and tranquility, unilateralism should be replaced by multilateralism,” he added.

Bagheri expressed his hope that due to the fact that the political relations between the two countries are at the highest level, the economic relations will also develop in accordance with the political relations.

“There are good capacities in the field of tourism, and special efforts should be made to facilitate cooperation and develop relations in this field,” he emphasized. 
Starovic also referred to the recent meeting of the presidents of the two countries on the sidelines of the annual UN conference in New York, saying the two countries have been insisting on comprehensive ties.

“The increasing interaction between the ministries of foreign affairs of the two countries shows the efforts of the parties to achieve the goals set by the presidents, and this issue has helped deepen the relations between the two countries,” the Serbian state secretary underscored. 

He also pointed to the interest of the Serbian business community to cooperate with Iranian companies. 

Further, the parties emphasized the need to speed up the start of negotiations to sign the free trade agreement between the two countries.