TEHRAN- The present state of relations between Iran and Serbia has been characterized as “progressive” and “friendly” by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, who also emphasized that Tehran sees no barriers to improving relations with Belgrade.

The comments were made by Amir Abdollahian at a meeting with Goran Aleksi, the deputy foreign minister of Serbia, on Saturday night in Tehran.

The senior Iranian diplomat suggested that friendly relationship with Serbia should be strengthened in all areas and that there are no restrictions on how far Iran will go to strengthen its ties with the Balkan nation in areas of shared interest.

Aleksi, for his part, emphasized the significance of cordial ties between Iran and Serbia.

The presidents of both nations are very keen in expanding bilateral ties in several fields, Aleksi continued.

Aleksi also expressed happiness with the progress in commerce between Tehran and Belgrade over the previous year and asked for cementing the two countries’ economic ties.

Ebrahim Raisi, the President of Iran, stated last month that the Islamic Republic supports stability and peace in the Balkans.

On July 24, Raisi met with Vladimir Orli, the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, and called for strengthening ties, particularly in business and economic spheres.

In the joint commission meeting between Iran and Serbia, they also underlined the necessity to assess the capacity of the two nations and the procedures for the advancement of relations.

In July, during a meeting between the head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) and Serbia’s ambassador to Tehran, the two sides stressed the need for expanding trade ties by promoting the exchange of trade delegations.

As reported by the ICCIMA portal, Hossein Selahvarzi and Ambassador Dragan Todorovic discussed the obstacles facing the commercial cooperation of the two countries in the meeting and explored the latest information related to the economic opportunities and capacities of the two countries.

Referring to the emerging economy of Serbia, Selahvarzi said: “The ICCIMA is focusing a lot on promoting international activities, and in this regard, countries with economic advantages are given priority; therefore, with the help of the Serbian embassy, we can take good steps to develop business relations.”

He mentioned the visit of an Iranian trade delegation to Serbia in 2022, saying, “In that visit, solutions were agreed upon in the form of some payment mechanisms and now we should focus more on implementing those mechanisms.”