TEHRAN – Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir has underlined the need for Malaysia to strengthen relations with Iran following a visit to Tehran. 

Commenting on his recent visit to Iran, Abdul Kadir said, “This visit is very important in terms of shoring up relations between Malaysia and Iran.”

He also positively assessed the development of relations between the two nations and the close cooperation between Malaysia and Iran, according to the IRIB News. 

“One of the actions in this field was the formation of commissions to strengthen relations, the most important of which is the formation and reactivation of the joint economic commission between Malaysia and Iran,” the top diplomat said, adding that the joint commission will be activated soon in Tehran and Kuala Lumpur.

He added, “Malaysia believes that the Joint Economic Commission can develop the economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries more than before and in different dimensions.”

Referring to several meetings held during the ASEAN consultative meeting, the foreign minister of Malaysia noted, “In these meetings, the conditions and foundation of the joint commission were determined, and we hope to be able to create new ways to strengthen cooperation during the activity of this joint commission.”

Abdul Kadir paid a visit to Iran earlier this month and met with several Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and President Ebrahim Raisi. 

In his meeting with President Raisi, the Malaysian foreign minister stated that his nation opposes U.S. sanctions against Iran and that his country will never recognize the repressive measures.

He also described Iran as a very important partner for Malaysia. 

Additionally, he praised his “positive” encounters with Iranian authorities when visiting Tehran from August 21-22.

In addition, Zambry called for expanding bilateral ties, particularly in agriculture, health, research, and technology.

For his part, Raisi maintained that creating a long-term framework for strategic collaboration between Iran and Malaysia will “open up new horizons” in the two countries’ relations.

He also expressed expectation that the collaboration strategy will result in improved communications and trade.

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

In a joint press conference with the Malaysian counterpart, Amir Abdollahian said Iran and Malaysia have made new agreements on the exchange of prisoners.

The Malaysian minister also met with Issa Zarepour, Iran’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology.