The president of the United Arab Emirates met with Iran’s visiting foreign minister on Thursday in the latest sign of improving relations between Persian Gulf Arab countries and the Islamic Republic.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf Arab countries, which are traditional allies of the US in the region, have in recent months charted a more independent path, reaching out to US adversaries as Washington increasingly focuses on Russia and China.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian “discussed the importance of building on positive developments to benefit the people of the region and enhance regional stability and prosperity,” the UAE’s state-run WAM news agency reported.
Iranian state TV said the two met for 90 minutes and discussed cooperation in different fields. It said the Iranian foreign minister invited Sheikh Mohammed to visit Iran and that the UAE president invited Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi to visit the Emirates.
Both parties expressed satisfaction with the progress made in expanding bilateral relations and agreed on the need for coordination, planning and joint action to enhance bilateral cooperation, particularly in the commercial and economic sectors.
They also agreed to implement initiatives aimed at strengthening regional cooperation based on the shared interests of the countries and the peoples of the region.
In addition to bilateral matters, the meeting addressed several regional and international issues of mutual concern.
Amir-Abdollahian later met with his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, who emphasized “the significance of establishing an international approach to multilateral action based on cooperation and partnership.”
The two top diplomats underlined the need for promotion of cooperation between the two neighbors as they discussed issues of mutual interest, regional developments, and expansion of bilateral relations.
The areas of cooperation between Iran and the UAE in various political, economic, commercial, consular, cultural and scientific fields were among the matters of discussion.
Good News
The regional tour followed stops in Qatar, Kuwait and Oman in the latest flurry of diplomatic moves by Tehran to improve relations with neighbors.
“In the framework of economic and commercial cooperation, we will have very good news for our beloved nation and the nations of these four countries in the future,” Tasnim News Agency quoted Amir-Abdollahian as saying.
“The cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the countries on the southern coast of the Persian Gulf has entered a new chapter. In each of these countries, we have seriously put bilateral issues on our agenda,” the foreign minister added.
The meetings follow similar recent outreach by Saudi Arabia, which agreed to normalize relations with Iran for the first time in seven years in a deal brokered by China in March. The two countries have since reopened embassies and held high-level official visits.
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