Iran supports and welcomes regional cooperation with Russia, the chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said, answering the question of Vestnik Kavkaza. He arrived in Russia at the invitation of Russia’s Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin to take part in an international economic conference titled 'Future of Regions: Development of Cooperation'.
"We signed memorandums of cooperation with 15 Russian entities. The train of regional Russian-Iranian regional cooperation has moved forward, and this cooperation will definitely continue. Speaking at the closing ceremony of the economic forum in Saratov, I said that I hope that the first Iranian ship with cargo or passengers going across the Caspian Sea and the Volga will come to Saratov. In my opinion, we must use the Caspian Sea for the development of our relations," he stressed.
Alaeddin Boroujerdi pointed out that the governors of many Iranian provinces are interested in expanding interregional cooperation with Russia. "We have the potential to increase the number and depth of contacts in trade, economy, agriculture, tourism and science at the university level. The interaction of the regions of the two countries is a very important sphere, which development can fully expand interstate relations. For example, he Director General for Economic Affairs, who arrived from the administration of Babol (Mazandaran province), had fruitful negotiations with his colleagues from Saratov on economic issues," the chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said.
He also spoke about cooperation with the North Caucasus Federal District. "Stability and security in this region are very important for Iran, we oppose religious radicalism in the region and in the whole world. We consider cooperation in the field of security and economy a very important area of cooperation between our countries, especially since this Russian region is part of the North-South project. In 2017, a large-scale economic forum was held in the North Caucasus, which was attended by Iran's representative delegation, and we welcome the holding of such forums," Alaeddin Boroujerdi said.
"We cannot but mention two historic meetings between Mr. Putin and our supreme spiritual leader, Mr. Khamenei. In this framework, we need to develop a roadmap, according to which, we can take large steps to strengthen our interstate relations. The agreement reached by Rouhani and Putin is aimed at raising the level of trade and economic relations to $10 billion a year. I think we need to make maximum efforts to implement this agreement as soon as possible. We need to distance ourselves from the dollar as much as possible and switch to national currencies. Important steps are being taken by the central banks, and we hope that in the near future we will see the implementation of the adopted decisions," the chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said.concluded.
