TEHRAN- Tehran’s new ambassador to Ab Dhabi, Reza Ameri, believes that ties between Iran and the United Arab Emirates heralds a “promising and bright” future, as diplomatic efforts in the West Asia region has gathered steam in recent months.

Ameri expressed the hope that bilateral connections would be further developed in accordance with the views of the two countries’ authorities while arriving in the capital of the UAE on Monday to begin his diplomatic mission.

In April, Iran named Ameri to the new position. According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry website, the diplomat had previously served as director general of the Department of Iranian Expatriates at the Foreign Ministry, director general of West Asia Affairs Department, and ambassador of Iran to Sudan, Eritrea, and Algeria.

Before beginning his mission in the UAE, the envoy had a meeting with Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian. 

During the meeting, the foreign minister emphasized the need to fortify connections with neighbors and demanded him to pay special attentions to the concerns of Iranian expatriates in the UAE.

After President Khalifa bin Zayed passed away in June of last year, Amir Abdollahian visited the UAE to offer his condolences, and Tehran praised the appointment of the new leader of the Persian Gulf state.

After many months, Amir Abdollahian’s trip was the highest-level visit by an Iranian official to the Persian Gulf country.

In September of last year, the UAE sent its ambassador to Iran. 

After Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016, Abu Dhabi reduced its ties with Tehran. On the other hand, Iran and Saudi Arabia decided in March to resume diplomatic ties after a seven-year hiatus thanks to a deal negotiated by China.

Iran’s embassy in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, was formally reopened on June 6.

Since 2018, when Tehran was again subjected to a number of unilateral economic restrictions by the United States, the UAE, a sizable re-exporting center in the Persian Gulf, has been a significant provider of products and machinery to Iran.

The foreign ministers of Iran and the UAE spoke over the phone on April 22 to discuss topics of significance to both countries. Amir Abdollahian stated that Tehran “considers no limits for the development of cooperation with the UAE.”

His Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, emphasized the necessity of fostering bilateral connections in order to further shared interests while pointing out that there is great potential for partnership among the two neighboring countries.