TEHRAN – Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Monday hosted his Malaysian counterpart Zambry bin Abdul Kadir in Tehran.

The trip is Zambry’s first visit to Iran since taking office in December of 2022. He is accompanied by an entourage of businessmen and economists. 

This is the second time the two diplomats have met as they had a word on the sidelines of the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement states in Baku in early July.

During Monday’s meeting, the two sides emphasized the expansion of ties in different fields as well as the implementation of the previously signed agreements. They also exchanged thoughts on the war in Ukraine, developments in Afghanistan, the situation in Syria and the Palestine issue. 

In a joint press conference, Amir Abdollahian said Iran and Malaysia have made new agreements on the exchange of prisoners.
 
He also warned Sweden and Denmark to stop their anti-Islamic moves in order to prevent terrorism and extremism from spreading. He underlined that Islamic countries are currently looking into the possible boycott of Danish and Swedish products.

The Iranian diplomat concluded his talk by inviting Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar bin Ibrahim to visit Iran. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi received a similar invitation in return.

In their meeting last month, the two foreign ministers discussed bilateral ties as well as regional and Muslim world issues. They both expressed their countries’ emphasis on Iran-Malaysia relations and expressed hope that the two nations can start to make use of each other’s potential in various areas. 

Amir Abdollahian also lauded Kuala Lumpur for its support of the Palestinians and lauded the position of the country toward the recent desecration of the Holy Quran in the West. 

On Monday, the Malaysian minister of foreign affairs also met with Issa Zarepour, Iran’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology.

The chief diplomat from Malaysia also met with the head of the Iran-Malaysia Joint Economic Cooperation Commission. The two officials coordinated the ninth meeting of the Joint Commission which is set to soon be held in Tehran. They also discussed economic cooperation and upcoming collaborations. The commission’s last meeting was held in 2017.

The Malaysian foreign ministry has called the trip “a sign of Malaysia’s commitment to strengthening ties with all countries including Iran”. 

Iran is Malaysia’s eighth biggest economic partner with the two countries’ trade volume having reached 0.83 billion dollars last year, a 40% increase from the previous year. 

MHA/PA