TEHRAN – Iran and Qatar have signed security and economic agreements according to which the two sides agreed to boost cooperation in security and economic fields. 

Seyed Majid Mir-Ahmadi, the deputy interior minister of Iran for security and police affairs, has recently traveled to Doha and met with the deputy interior minister of Qatar. During the meeting, the two sides held talks over security and police affairs.

They reached an agreement about holding a joint security and police committee in Iran, according to Fars News. They also discussed Iranian fishermen imprisoned in Qatar for their illegal entry into the territorial waters of Qatar. Qatar agreed to release them. 

Necessary agreements were also made regarding decisive confrontation with drug smugglers in the sea.

Another issue was the removal of the need to book a hotel before Iranians travel to Qatar, which imposes exorbitant costs on Iranians who plan to travel to Qatar. During these talks, the Qatari side agreed to solve this problem as soon as possible and allow Iranian citizens to travel to this country without the need to book a hotel before traveling to Qatar.

They also talked about the facilitation of trade between the two countries and the existing problems for inspecting the cargo of barges and ships moving toward Qatar, and it was decided that the Qatari side should take the necessary measures to speed up and remove the existing obstacles.

Another issue was solving the problem of residence of Iranian businessmen in Qatar. It was decided that Iran's ambassador in Doha to hand over the names of the people needing visas from Qatar to the Qatari authorities.

The Qatari side announced that it will provide full assistance in this regard.

The Iran-Qatar agreements come after visits by a number of Iranian officials to Doha, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and Governor of Central Bank Mohammadreza Farzin. 

In Doha, the Iranian foreign minister met with Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar. He also traveled to Oman, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. 

Amir Abdollahian and Sheikh Tamim discussed issues of mutual interest at bilateral, regional and international levels. Amir Abdollahian extended Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s greetings to the Qatari emir and underlined the Islamic Republic’s readiness to work with Qatar toward expanding relations in different bilateral areas and to speed up the implementation of previous trade and economic agreements between Tehran and Doha, according to the Iranian foreign ministry.

The Iranian foreign minister expressed pleasure with the excellent relations between the two countries. He also said it is necessary that trade, economic and cultural ties be boosted to the level of political relations between Iran and Qatar. 

Amir Abdollahian also called for enhancing talks and cooperation among the eight Persian Gulf countries in order to put in place a collective mechanism for the purpose of preserving their joint interests and security. The top Iranian diplomat appreciated Qatar’s efforts and initiatives to resolve regional issues and problems and reaffirmed Iran’s continued support for Doha’s constructive actions to this end.