INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TEHRAN — Iran’s vice president for parliamentary affairs says the planned visit by President Ebrahim Raisi to Oman is “strategically
important”, saying it is in line with Iran’s “good neighborliness” policy
Speaking in a live radio show on Tuesday, Seyed Mohammad Hosseini stated that one of the priorities of the government's foreign policy is to
pay attention to the neighbors and countries in the region.“In this regard, it is natural to have economic trade and political cooperation
with neighboring countries and to discuss security issues.”Speaking about the positive results of the president's visits to neighboring
countries, he said that during Raisi’s visit to Tajikistan, the issue of Iran's permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) was raised.“The issue of gas swap was also raised during the visit to Turkmenistan
Following the president's visit to Qatar, the Emir of Qatar came to Iran and announced his readiness for extensive cooperation in various
fields,” Hosseini added. According to the vice president, Oman is one of the countries that have long-standing and friendly relations
with Iran. “In recent months, many events in particular have taken place between the two countries, and in this regard, a joint special
economic committee consisted of high-ranking officials from Tehran and Muscat was held and good agreements were reached,” he
noted. Hosseini added that following these agreements, the Omani foreign minister paid a visit to Iran, which shows the excellent relations
between the two countries and the interest of both sides to address bilateral and regional issues.“Reducing tensions in the region and
issues such as the Yemen war are among the issues being discussed between the two countries,” he pointed out. Emphasizing the expansion
of political and economic relations, Hosseini said development of cultural relations is also on the agenda because there are many cultural
commonalities between the two countries.Recently, the Tehran Times discovered that the next destination of President Raisi will be Muscat,
but as of writing this article, the date of the visit is unclear.When asked about the president’s visit to Oman and the UAE, Iran’s
Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said these visits are certainly on the agenda. “Preparations for these visits are underway
by the president’s office,” Khatibzadeh said on Monday.
