Iranian, Kazakh Presidents Discuss Expansion of Bilateral Relations
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev discussed the latest regional and international developments, and underlined the two countries’ resolve to bolster bilateral relations in all fields.
During the meeting in the Kyrgyz capital city of Bishkek on Thursday, Rouhani and Nazarbayev explored avenues for strengthening relations between Tehran and Astana in different fields.
The Iranian president emphasized the need for expansion of cultural partnership between regional countries, Iran and Kazakhstan in particular, in order to “counter extremism, terrorism and organized crimes”, which he described as objectives of the SCO.
He stated that the regional organizations, including the SCO and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), can lead to closer cooperation between Iran and Kazakhstan.
Nazarbayev, for his part, said the Kazak government and nation is after "deepening multilateral relations" with Iran in all fields.
The Iranian president is in Bishkek to attend the 13th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Kyrgyzstan holds the current rotating presidency of the SCO.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a political, economic and military organization which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Mongolia are observer states of the SCO.
