CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian concluded a visit to South Africa where he met with a number of foreign counterparts, whose countries are either member to BRICS or are called Friends of BRICS.

In Cape Town, where the meeting was held, the Iranian foreign minister met with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Gabon, South Africa, Brazil, India, the Comoros, and Russia, the Tehran Times correspondent from Cape Town reported.

BRICS currently includes the five economically emerging countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The Friends of BRICS, such as Iran, are countries who aspire to join the economic bloc.

In his meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Amir Abdollahian expressed satisfaction with the good progress made in bilateral ties, saying the ambassadors of the two countries have been introduced fortunately and the stage has been set for the opening of the Embassies and Consulates of the two countries.

He thanked Saudi Arabia for making preparations and providing facilities for Iran’s Hajj pilgrims.

The top Iranian diplomat added that in the previous talks, the two sides discussed the necessity of strengthening the commercial and economic relations between the two countries, and that his Saudi counterpart’s upcoming visit to Tehran will be an opportunity for further discussions and exchange of views aimed at boosting bilateral relations in various fields.

He considered BRICS as a new opportunity for multilateral cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia and other member countries of the group, especially in economic and commercial fields.

For his part, the Saudi foreign minister likewise expressed satisfaction with the very good progress achieved in bilateral relations with Iran.

Bin Farhan thanked the Iranian side for the valuable assistance in welcoming the Saudi technical delegation in order to lay the groundwork for the opening of the Saudi Embassy and Consulate in Iran.

He added that with the very good bilateral cooperation, the two sides quickly passed the stages of appointing ambassadors and setting the stage for the opening of political and consular missions, and the two states are moving towards a new stage in their relations, which will serve the interests of the two nations and the entire region.

The top Saudi diplomat also said he will visit Tehran soon.

Amir Abdollahian and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also discussed issues of mutual interest, regional as well as international developments, according to the Iranian foreign ministry.

Amir Abdollahian and Gabon’s Foreign Minister Herman Immongault also exchanged views on bilateral ties and international issues of mutual interest.

Amir Abdollahian said the relations between Iran and Gabon have always been warm, long-standing and friendly, and emphasized Tehran’s readiness to further bolster the cooperation between the two countries.

Referring to Iran’s industrial, technical, scientific and medical capacities and achievements, the top diplomat said the Islamic Republic is ready to use its capabilities in the service of developing relations and cooperation with friendly countries, including Gabon.

He said Iran-Gabon cooperation in the international field has always been on the right track, and emphasized the need to strengthen consultations and cooperation in the global arena.

Amir Abdollahian and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar also exchanged views on bilateral relations. In the meeting, the Iranian foreign minister said Tehran likes the economic, commercial, investment, scientific and technological relations between the two countries to increase in accordance with the good political relations between Tehran and New Delhi.

And through mutual consultation and cooperation, the existing obstacles in the process of economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries should be removed, he added.

Amir Abdollahian also met with the foreign minister of the Comoros, Dhoihir Dhoulkamal. While examining the relations between the two countries, the foreign ministers described the heartfelt, cultural, historical and religious connection and interest of the people of the two countries as spiritual assets for bilateral relations.

Dhoulkamal described the relations between the two countries as old and deep-rooted. He mentioned his country's desire to resume official relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was welcomed by Amir Abdollahian. The parties agreed to prepare the preparations for that.

Amir Abdollahian phones new Turkish FM

Amir Abdollahian also spoke over the phone with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan to congratulate him on his appointment as Turkey’s top diplomat.

In the call, Amir Abdollahian expressed hope that close cooperation between Iran and Turkey would be upgraded and continued in the new era, according to the Iranian foreign ministry.

He also invited Fidan to pay a visit to Tehran and underlined the need to accelerate the plan to boost bilateral relations.

Amir Abdollahian called Iran-Turkey cooperation on regional issues important and stressed the need to activate regional mechanisms.

The newly-appointed Turkish foreign minister, for his part, thanked Amir Abdollahian for his congratulatory message.

Hakan Fidan pointed out the importance of continuing good dialogue and cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Turkey in bilateral and regional fields. He also expressed his readiness to help develop relations between the two countries in the upcoming period.

The Turkish foreign minister emphasized that he will travel to Tehran as soon as possible.