Guidance Minister Confers With Top Vietnamese Officials

August 5, 1998 - 0:0
TEHRAN The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ataollah Mohajerani, on a visit to Vietnam, met with high-ranking Vietnamese officials, discussing promotion of the two countries' all-out cooperation, especially in the field of cul Mohajerani left Tehran for Hanoi on Friday for a four-day visit at the invitation of the Vietnamese Minister of Culture and Information Nguyen Khoodiem, who had previously visited Iran in March, 1998.

On Tuesday, Mohajerani called on the Chairman of Viatnam's National Assembly Nong Duc Manh and discussed with him the bilateral parliamentary cooperation. In the meeting, Mohajerani said that Tehran-Hanoi parliamentary cooperation will serve as a suitable backing for promotion of bilateral relations. The parliament in Iran enjoys special authority because the Assembly of Experts, who has ratified the Constitution, were of the belief that the more powerful the Majlis, the stronger democracy will be, he said.

Formation of a parliamentary freindship group between the parliaments of the two countries prepares the ground for further contacts between Iranian and Vietnamese members of parliament, Mohajerani said, quoted by IRNA. Enumerating the areas of cooperation between the two countries, the Iranian minister hailed the Vietnamese nation as a noble nation who has paid a dear price for its freedom and independence.'' The Vietnamese official in reply expressed satisfaction with the current visit of the Iranian minister to Hanoi and called the Islamic Republic of Iran a supporter of Vietnam. There exists mutual understanding between the two countries,'' he added.

Cultural and parliamentary cooperation between the two countries could play a significant role in expansion of an all-out cooperation between Tehran and Hanoi, he said. He also expressed hope that the Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri would pay an official visit to Vietnam in the near future. On Monday, Mohajerani held talks with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Novien Menkam. He said in the meeting that the opening of Vietnam's Embassy in Tehran and the visits to Tehran of the country's deputy culture minister and parliament's vice president had paved the way for broader relations between the two countries.

The Vietnamese officials hoped relations between the two countries would broaden in every area in the future. Referring to the involvement of both countries in unwanted wars, the Vietnamese official hoped broader cultural relations between Iran and Vietn