Iran Keen to Expand Ties with New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore

Zarif held the meetings on Friday on the sidelines of the 51st ministerial meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore.

In his meeting with New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, Zarif conferred on ways to expand bilateral relations, the Iran nuclear deal, international affairs, and other issues of mutual interests.

The Iranian top diplomat also discussed issues of mutual interest with Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and President Halimah Yacob.

During the meeting with President Yacob, Zarif hailed bilateral relations between Tehran and Singapore as “very good and friendly”, and highlighted the existing grounds for cooperation in various fields.

He also extended the warm greetings of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Yacob, for her part, called for maintaining the good relations and further expanding Iran-Singapore cooperation in various fields.

The Iran nuclear deal and the latest regional and international developments were among other issues discussed in the meeting.

Zarif also exchanged views with Balakrishnan on bilateral relations, the ASEAN, regional affairs, and international issues.

Later in the day, the Iranian top diplomat met his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.

During the Friday talks, the two diplomats discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest, particularly economic cooperation, the Iran nuclear deal, and the most important regional and international affairs.

Also in a meeting with the ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, Zarif discussed ways to develop relation between Iran and ASEAN after the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC).

Zarif, who arrived in Singapore on Wednesday evening, has already held separate meetings with his Japanese, Turkish, Filipino, Norwegian, Vietnamese, Russian, and Malaysian counterparts and Singaporean prime minister on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting.

“All [these diplomats] stressed expansion of ties, imperative of promoting multilateralism and resilience and innovation to preserve the JCPOA,” Zarif tweeted on Thursday night.

Before arriving in the Southeast Asian state, Zarif also paid a visit to Sri Lanka, where he held separate talks with the country’s top officials.