TEHRAN – The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Persian Gulf state of Qatar took new moves to enhance judicial cooperation during Iranian Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei’s recent visit to Doha. 

Ejei and his accompanying high-level judicial delegation engaged in several discussions with Qatari officials on Tuesday and Wednesday. The visit culminated in the signing of a mutual legal assistance agreement in criminal matters between Iran and Qatar, consisting of 14 articles.

The agreement, signed by Amin Hossein Rahimi, Minister of Justice of Iran, and Isa bin Saad Al Nuaimi, Attorney General of Qatar, aims to facilitate maximum legal and judicial cooperation in criminal matters between the two countries. Both parties committed to sharing information related to final judgments regarding nationals or citizens of the other party at least once a year and to providing mutual legal assistance requests and judicial representation in criminal matters as per the agreement and their national laws.

Iran-Qatar cooperation ‘desirable and progressive’

During a meeting with the head of Qatar’s Supreme Judicial Council, Ejei highlighted the development of cooperation and relations between the two countries in various fields.

“The cooperation between the two countries of Iran and Qatar in political and regional issues is desirable and progressive, and this has been more prominent in recent years and during the presidency of Ayatollah Raisi, the late president of our country,” Ejei explained. He stressed the necessity for legal and judicial relations to expand and grow in tandem with the development of political, economic, and cultural ties between Iran and Qatar.

For his part, Hassan bin Lahdan Al Hassan Al Mohannadi, conveyed his desire for the visit to last longer, expressing hopes for greater interaction between the Iranian and Qatari judicial systems. He welcomed the development and deepening of relations between the two countries, especially in the judicial field, and expressed willingness to visit Iran in the near future.

“We welcome the development and deepening of relations between Qatar and Iran, especially in the judicial field, and we hope that in the near future, conditions will be created for senior Iranian and Qatari judicial authorities to witness court proceedings in each other's countries in person,” the Qatari official said.  “Given the proximity of Iran and Qatar, the Iranian community present in our country is a large community, and our view of Iranians present in Qatar is similar to our view of Qatari citizens,” he added. 

In his last meeting before leaving Qatar, Ejei met with the Emir of the Persian Gulf state.