Iran's Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani highlighted the need for closer cooperation among Asian and European countries to promote multilateralism in the world.
In his address to the third Eurasian inter-parliamentary meeting in Turkey's Antalya on Tuesday, he said, "Today, the need to stand up to unilateralism has made collaboration between Eurasian Parliaments all the more essential."
The Third Conference of Eurasian Parliament Members opened on Tuesday on the theme of "Economic Cooperation in Eurasia, Environment and Sustainable Development" with legislative speakers and delegations from 39 European and Asian countries in attendance. The event is due to end on Wednesday.
Larijani, who is heading Iran's delegation of parliamentarians, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony.
He noted in his speech that today's world is undergoing major changes with regard to international relations.
"Global cooperation is developing, but certain countries' controversial polices are not only disrupting this trend, but also challenging the principles of global governance, multilateralism and free trade," he said.
"The United States' illegal and unilateral methods of dealing with international affairs have posed a huge challenge to the global community," he said, citing the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran and the Paris climate pact, and its intensifying trade war with major powers.
Eurasian members can take control of one-third of the world economy by signing trade agreements to lift tariffs and boost free trade.
"This is an effective and operational measure to counter America's one-sided approaches," he said.
According to Larijani, expanding ties between the member states' legislatures, governments and private sectors, relaxing restrictive customs regulations, boosting the free flow of capital and data, and revising financial policies to enable the use of local currencies in mutual trade are among effective measures contributing to the trend of multilateralism.
Criticizing the US departure from the Paris climate accord, the top lawmaker urged Eurasian parliaments to jointly develop and adopt frameworks to help improve the environment in keeping with their regional conditions.
"Today, addressing environmental crises requires special attention and collective action," he said.
Larijani pointed out that Iran, like many other regional states, is facing ecological issues such as the desiccation of Urmia Lake and dust storms in western provinces, to name but a few.
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The speaker praised the innovative event as an efficient platform for opening dialogue on regional and international economic ties and taking more serious action to remove obstacles.
"Our discussions in the past two rounds in Moscow and Seoul deepened European and Asian countries' understanding of collaboration and paved the way for establishing the Eurasian region as an influential hub for sustainable social, cultural and economic development," he said.
The first and second rounds of the event were held in Russia and South Korea respectively.
The speaker announced the Iranian Parliament’s readiness to work toward common goals and help bring better order and sustainable security to the Eurasian region.
Larijani, who arrived in Antalya on Monday, held talks with his Russian and Turkish counterparts on the sidelines of the meeting.
In a meeting with Chairman of Russia's State Duma Vyacheslav Viktorovich Volodin, he described Iran-Russia relations as close and growing, particularly with regard to banking and oil collaborations.
The Russian official called Iran an important partner and stated his country's intention to boost ties, especially in parliamentary affairs.
"Interaction between Eurasian parliaments is improving and will further develop following the Antalya summit," he said.
In a separate meeting with Turkey's parliament speaker, Binali Yildirim, Larijani called for a stronger Iran-Turkey alliance.
"Iran and Turkey need to be more united to achieve common goals and commercial cooperation presents an ideal opportunity to expand relations," he said.
Yildirim pointed to the 500-year history of friendship between Tehran and Ankara, underlining the fact that the two nations "have never been in opposition and have always backed one another."
However, he noted that the two countries are facing hostility from several sides due to their joint efforts with Russia to end the Syrian civil war.
"The three countries will be able to defeat these enemies by increasing regional cooperation," he said.
Larijani also sat down for consultations with Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan Qasim Suri on Monday to discuss mutual ties.
