Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will soon travel to Singapore to sign a cooperation treaty with Southeast Asia, the Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday. Zarif will sign the document at a gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers starting on July 30 in Singapore, Ong Keng Yong, the city-state's non-resident ambassador to Iran, said, according to Bloomberg. "ASEAN countries welcome anyone who wants to sign onto the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation," said Ong, a former ASEAN secretary general. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said the fact that Southeast Asian countries are unanimous in welcoming Iran's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation shows they appreciate the importance of interaction with Iran as an influential player in the regional and international arena, IRNA reported. The 10-member ASEAN bloc represents 630 million people and economies with a combined gross domestic product of around $2.4 trillion.
