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Iran, Qatar Call for Broadening Regional Cooperation
Iran and Qatar on Tuesday called for broadening cooperation among Persian Gulf littoral countries in order to promote stability and security in the region.
Iran as a regional power is ready to cooperate with the countries of the region and those countries can also count on Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said in a meeting with visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani.
He said that with mutual cooperation, the stability and security of the Gulf region will be realized, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Kharrazi mentioned the "hostilities and cold war" between Iran and its Gulf Arab neighbors following the 1979 Islamic revolution, but stressed that all those differences and suspicions should be put behind and the countries should extend hands toward "mutual cooperation and collaboration."
The Qatar emir, for his part, underlined his country's willingness to broaden ties with Iran in various fields, especially gas and petrochemical.
He said that Qatar and Iran have always enjoyed very good and progressive relations and constructive cooperation between the two countries will further lead to positive and beneficial results in the region.
Earlier, Hamad also met with Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani on military cooperation between Iran and Qatar. In the meeting, Hamad said that Doha is ready to appoint a military attache to Iran.
Shamkhani, for his part, called for promotion of Iran-Qatar defense ties by exchange of military delegations and defense expertise and expansion of cooperation in training.
The Qatari emir arrived here on Monday for a two-day official visit. He had also held separate meetings with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
During the visit, a series of cooperation agreements were signed between the two countries on such issues as encouraging investments by avoiding double taxation, increasing cultural contacts, exchanging know-how in the medical field, exchanging news services and increasing Iran-Qatar flights.
After years of mutual suspicion caused mainly by previous Iranian governments' policy of exporting the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran and its Gulf Arab neighbors have improved ties in recent years, especially since President Khatami took office in 1997.
Khatami paid landmark visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar in April 1999, which opened a new chapter for their relations.
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