Iran Hosts Conference on Economic Diplomacy

This national conference was held on October 21 at the Office of the Institute for Political and International Studies. The event was organized by the Foreign Ministry’s Department for Economic Diplomacy in collaboration with the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation.

Several foreign agencies working in the field of international cooperation also attended the conference.

The event opened with speeches by Gholamreza Ansari, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs; Jorge Chediek, the Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation; and Mohammad Khazaei, a deputy finance minister and the head of Organisation for the Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran.

More than 300 senior executives of various Iranian ministries and departments as well as Tehran-based ambassadors and diplomats attended the event.

The conference was aimed at explaining new methods in the field of international cooperation, especially in economic diplomacy.

The speakers focused on the benefits, and the added value of cooperation, in particular through the sharing of experiences. They also discussed exchange of technology and various aspects of the issue.

The speakers, including experts from the United Nations and international cooperation agencies in Japan, Turkey, and Mexico, discussed the mechanisms of development cooperation, and transfer of their countries’ experiences and ways to secure the national interests of partner countries within the framework of development cooperation.

South-South cooperation as one of the models of development was also a major issue discussed in the conference.

Representatives of a number of domestic organisations such as Education Ministry, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), the Department of Environment, and the Nanotechnology Headquarters also elaborated on their plans and achievements.

At the end of the conference, Iranian foreign ministry official Ahmad Massoumifar outlined the high capacities of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of development cooperation and called for the recognition of all aspects of this component in foreign policy.

The official also highlighted the significance of development cooperation in international and bilateral relations, development of national policies, coordination and synergy of all the institutions of the country, and the use of smart and innovative methods in this area.

He also called on the country’s scientific and academic institutions to carry out integrated studies on development cooperation and help the foreign ministry and other relevant bodies in this field.