Iran has underlined the necessity of cooperation between the Southeast Asian economic bloc of the ASEAN and the ECO Eurasian inter-governmental organization.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani pointed to the necessity in a meeting with visiting Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai in Tehran on Sunday.

“The reinforcement of cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) brings about regional economic development,” said the president.

“Developing countries should meet each other’s demands in the economic, commercial, scientific, financial, and technological arenas, and benefit from one other’s experiences in cultural, social, and environmental fields,” he added.

Besides Thailand, ASEAN, which lays emphasis on economic growth among its members, groups Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

The Tehran-headquartered ECO, comprises Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan as well as the Islamic Republic itself. The main purpose of the organization, which was set up in 1985, is to promote economic, technical, and cultural cooperation among the member states.

The top Thai diplomat, for his part, described as very outstanding and effective the Iranian president’s role in the negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries that led to a nuclear deal in July 2015.
He said, “Given that Iran made use of time under sanctions and gave special attention to training competent and specialist human resources, the country will turn into an economic power in the near future.”

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha recently congratulated Iran on achieving success in the nuclear negotiations and on the occasion of the recent implementation of the agreement.

ASEAN foreign ministers had in August last year voiced support for the then freshly finalized nuclear agreement.

In a separate meeting with the Thai foreign minister in Tehran on Sunday, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Thailand can benefit from Iran’s market in different sectors, expressing Tehran’s readiness to improve relations with Bangkok.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s market can play a leading role in the fields of transit, regional exchanges, re-export, multilateral cooperation and strengthening of cooperation in the fields of agriculture, fishery and aquatics [between the two countries],” Zarif said.

Saying that the two countries have managed to develop relations based on mutual respect and common interests, the Iranian foreign minister added that Tehran is ready to further expand ties with Bangkok in political, economic and cultural areas.

Pointing to the constructive cooperation between the two sides in regional and international organizations, Zarif said Iran will actively contribute to the promotion of peace and stability and the campaign against terrorism.

----Thailand keen to boost Iran ties

The Thai foreign minister, for his part, said Tehran-Bangkok relations have always been based on mutual respect. He said his country seeks to boost cooperation with Iran in the fields of politics, economy, trade and culture.

Pramudwinai praised the positive outcomes of the nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and hoped his country would find new grounds for cooperation with Iran.

He emphasized that Thailand seeks to improve the level of its cooperation with Iran in regional and international organizations.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, the Thai foreign minister arrived in Tehran on Sunday to hold talks with Iranian officials.

(Source: Press TV)