TEHRAN- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has said that Tehran would do all possible to improve collaboration among Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) countries.

He made the statements during a meeting with ACD Secretary General Pornchai Danvivathana in Tehran on Monday. The meeting took place as Iran is set to take over the forum’s rotating chairmanship in September.

The senior diplomat declared that while holding the rotating presidency of the ACD, Iran will do all in its power to clear the path for the achievement of its objectives in addition to fostering collaboration within the group.

Amir Abdollahian remarked that the ACD secretariat, which is headquartered in Kuwait, plays a key role in fostering collaboration among its members and that Iran is willing to assist the secretariat and the ACD Cultural and Tourism Coordination Center, which its office is in Tehran, in this respect.

Danvivathana, for his part, informed Amir Abdollahian about the upcoming foreign ministerial conference of the ACD, which is scheduled to take place in September, concurrent with the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly. The ACD’s one-year presidency of Iran will officially begin after that gathering.

The first of its kind in Asia, the Asia Cooperation Dialogue is a continent-wide forum, which was inaugurated in Thailand in 2002.

More precisely, the ACD seeks to fill a gap in Asia by absorbing every Asian country and establishing an Asian Community without duplicating existing organizations or forming a bloc against others.

A crucial idea is to maximize Asia’s variety and rich resources to solidify Asian strengths and enhance Asia’s competitiveness.

Iran, Uzbekistan concur to put agreements into effect

Separately, on Monday, the foreign ministers of Iran and Uzbekistan signed a document to put into effect the agreements made during a previous meeting between the presidents of the two nations.

Amir Abdollahian and Bakhtiyor Saidov, the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, met virtually to sign the agreement as they addressed all facets of their countries’ political and economic relations.

The senior diplomats also discussed the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) conference, which is set to take place in Uzbekistan in November.

Saidov extended an invitation to his Iranian counterpart to visit Uzbekistan.

“Iran has no longer blocked funds in any country”

Addressing reporters on Monday, Amir Abdollahian said that Tehran no longer has any funds frozen abroad as a result of U.S. sanctions and is free to use its own resources.

Iran and the U.S. reached an agreement about the release of $6 billion worth of Iranian funds that had been unlawfully frozen in South Korea under the pressure of the U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

He continued by saying that the Iranian government had taken significant steps to unlock the nation’s frozen assets since assuming power almost two years ago.

“Last year, we collected 390 million pounds of Britain’s debt which were related to the period before the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979,” the top Iranian diplomat added. 

Elsewhere, Amir Abdollahian noted that Iran’s membership in the BRICS group of emerging economies could strengthen global economic power and collaboration in a system based on multilateralism.

He also stated that Iran’s admittance to BRICS was granted despite the sanctions on the country.

The BRICS leaders, i.e., Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, had a “very important” part in Iran’s decision to join the organization, according to the Iranian foreign minister, who additionally asserted that President Ebrahim Raisi had discussed this with all of them.

Iran’s diplomatic apparatus likewise exerted all of its resources, he underlined, stressing that active diplomacy ultimately resulted in the nation’s formal membership.

“Arbaeen march to Karbala enrages, frightens foes”

In a message published in Iraq’s Arabic-language al-Zora and al-Sabaah newspapers on Tuesday, Amir Abdollahian also said the annual Arbaeen march, which attracts millions of participants to commemorate the 40th day following Imam Hussein’s (AS) martyrdom anniversary, is a symbol of the fight against repression and quest for freedom. 

“As one of the largest gatherings of people in the world, the Arbaeen march represents a colossal, noble and deep-seated motion, which annually brings together millions of Muslims from all over the world with different nationalities, races and languages to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS),” he stated.