Roundup: Vajpayee's Visit to Iran to Boost Bilateral Ties, Cooperation

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee wound up his high-profile visit to Iran on Friday, with both countries agreeing to forge close ties and boosting cooperation in all fields.

The four-day visit of Vajpayee, the first Indian prime minister to visit Tehran since 1993, was expected to give a major thrust to bilateral cooperation, especially in the energy sector.

During his stay here, Vajpayee held talks on wide-range issues with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who voiced Iran's readiness to expand cooperation with India in all areas, especially in economic field.

Meanwhile, the Indian prime minister stressed the historical friendship and cultural ties between the two countries, and noted that the two nations have influenced each other in art, language, literature and other areas.

The two countries' economies could complement each other, with Iran's huge oil and gas reserves and India's vast market, Vajpayee said.

During his visit, India and Iran signed the Tehran Declaration aimed to rebuild Tehran-New Delhi ties, and six other agreements on cooperation in energy, water, trade and science fields.

In 2000, the two-way trade volume between Iran and India stood at about 1.17 billion US dollars, with Iran exporting roughly 1 billion dollars of goods to India.

Iran is keen to export gas from its enormous reserves to energy-hungry India but a pipeline-laying project has been shelved amid Indian concerns over the safety of the passage of the line through Pakistan.

A newly established joint economic commission is expected to work on the issue and give more momentum to the economic interaction between the two countries.

Vajpayee, who heads a high-level politico-economic delegation, has vowed to speed up the construction of the closely watched pipeline, saying potentials for commercial links are great.

On regional security issues, he expressed India's readiness to play an active role in securing regional peace and stability.






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