Your Excellency, Dr. Amir-Abdollahian,
Esteemed members of the Iran delegation,
Members of the Press,
Let me begin by expressing my pleasure at being back in Tehran.
I had today, a very useful exchange of views with my dear colleague Dr. Amir-Abdollahian. We were able to review all aspects of our bilateral engagement quite comprehensively and exchange thoughts on some pressing global and regional issues. I will have an opportunity to meet His Excellency President Raisi later today. I will be conveying Prime Minister Modi's warm greetings to him. I will also meet the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, whom we will have the pleasure of hosting in India in a few days. Earlier this morning, I met with the Minister of Roads and Urban development, Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash.
At the outset, let me underline that this visit gave me an opportunity to personally convey our condolences to my counterpart on the recent terrorist attack in Kerman. Prime Minister Modi has written to President Raisi in this regard as well.
My discussions today benefited from the fact that our countries have maintained a regular momentum of high-level interactions. Prime Minister Modi and President Raisi recently met at Johannesburg. Our leaders have been in frequent touch through letters and phone. I also personally maintained regular contact with Dr. Abdollahian in recent days. We also held our Foreign Office Consultations just two months back.
Today, due to the regularity of these exchanges and the guidance provided by our leadership, there is a good basis to expand substantive cooperation in a variety of areas. The Foreign Minister and I specifically focused on its political and economic aspects. But naturally, there were other domains as well.
Our people-to-people contacts have long been a strength. Iran and India are united by our deep cultural, literary and linguistic ties, which create a unique foundation for increasing exchanges of tourists, students, artists, athletes, and scholars. We discussed how we can better link our cultural and educational institutions. Let me share with you all that the Government of India has decided to include Farsi as one of the nine classical languages of India in our New Education Policy.
Regional connectivity has been a critical pillar of India-Iran relations, and was naturally prominent in the agenda of today's discussions. I reiterated India's interest in benefiting from Iran's unique geographical position to access markets in Central Asia, Afghanistan and Eurasia. We discussed the prospects of energising the International North South Transport Corridor.
In particular, we discussed India's involvement in the development and operation of the Chabahar port, a joint project with a joint vision of connectivity. I emphasised India's commitment to this project, and discussed how we can establish a firm, sustainable and long-term roadmap, for India's continued involvement over the coming years. Given the importance of this project for both nations, I emphasised the need to monitor its progress under the direct supervision of the political leadership.
We also exchanged perspectives and assessments on certain regional and global issues and developments. Both of us are concerned about the recent events in West Asia, which some call Middle East; and we emphasised the importance of preventing further escalation of violence and hostilities. We will be continuing further discussions over lunch.
As you all know, India has a long-standing and uncompromising position against terrorism in all forms and manifestations. This remains so very much. At the same time, we strongly believe that it is imperative to avoid loss of civilian life in any conflict situation.
The deeply concerning situation in Gaza was naturally a subject of our discussions. The loss of civilian lives, especially that of women and children was our primary focus. There is a visible humanitarian crisis that needs to be addressed and the creation of sustainable humanitarian corridors is the need of the day. We welcome the international community’s efforts in that direction. India itself has delivered shipments of relief material to Gaza and contributed to the UNRWA.
On the issue of Palestine, let me reiterate India’s long standing support for a two-state solution, where the Palestinian people are able to live freely in an independent country within secure borders. I stressed on the need for all parties to avoid provocative and escalatory actions, and to facilitate movement towards dialogue and diplomacy.
As you are all aware, there have also been recently a perceptible increase in threats to the safety of maritime commercial traffic in this important part of the Indian Ocean. The Minister also referred to it. We have even seen some attacks in the vicinity of India. This is a matter of great concern to the international community. Obviously, it also has a direct bearing on India's energy and economic interests. This fraught situation is not to the benefit of any party and this must be clearly recognised.
Dr. Abdollahian and I will be reviewing developments in Afghanistan, we spoke about it briefly; and continue our long-standing dialogue about its stability and security. Another area that we intend to touch upon is the Caucasus, and we will be discussing various aspects of the conflict in Ukraine, and their implications.
This is my first visit to Iran after its membership of the BRICS was approved in September 2023 in South Africa. As a strong advocate of Iran’s joining, India was particularly pleased with this outcome. We also work closely together in the SCO and in multilateral organisations. Both of us will be present in Kampala soon for the NAM Summit. This tradition of multilateral cooperation is a natural reflection of the strength of our bilateral ties. We also very much appreciate Iran’s contribution to the Voice of the Global South Summits that were convened by India last year.
Friends,
I am confident that today's exchanges will give momentum to our bilateral cooperation, and also further enhance our understanding of each other's positions on important regional and global issues. India and Iran are two old friends, who have always viewed each other’s growth and prosperity as contributing to their own. Our partnership and our regular consultations have a particular value in the volatile and uncertain world that we currently see.
I thank you all for your attention, I reiterate my thanks to the Minister and to his colleagues, to the Iranian authorities for making my visit to Iran so comfortable and productive. And I look forward to seeing him in India very soon.
Thank you very much.