TEHRAN – A senior Emirati official has underlined the United Arab Emirates’ determination to strengthen relations with Iran.

Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, who is a Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), made the remarks during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Tuesday.

The UAE’s minister emphasized Abu Dhabi’s determination to boost relations with the Islamic Republic, the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.

“In a meeting on Tuesday with Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian highlighted the 13th administration’s policy of developing ties with neighbors,” the statement said.

It added, “He described the UAE as a reliable trade partner, and said ties between the two countries will be enhanced both at the level of governments and private sectors.”

The statement further said, “Amir Abdollahian said the expansion of bilateral ties will be in the interests of the two countries and the broader region.”

The meeting comes after a phone conversation between the foreign ministers of Iran and the UAE in April. In that conversation, Amir Abdollahian described the existing relations as forward-moving and said, “Active meetings and consultations are going on between the officials of the two countries.”

“There are no limits to the all-out expansion of relations,” the top Iranian diplomat said, according to a statement by the Iranian foreign ministry at the time.

The two sides stressed the importance of broadening cooperation, including in the private sector.

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for his part, highlighted the common interests of the two countries in the development of mutual relations in various fields, laying emphasis on various opportunities for joint cooperation.

Regarding the new conditions in the region, he said that in recent weeks, the region is witnessing the strengthening of cooperation, including good relations between Tehran and Riyadh and the new conditions in Syria.

The two sides mutually invited one another for visits to Tehran and Abu Dhabi.