ehran, Jan 23, IRNA – President Hassan Rouhani and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Saturday underlined necessity of expediting compilation of the Comprehensive Document of Iran-China 25-Year Cooperation.

In a meeting in Tehran on Saturday, the two presidents underlined close cooperation and coordination in campaign against terrorism and settlement of problems of countries and regional differences through diplomacy and dialogue.
President Rouhani said the meeting that China has stood by the Iranian nation under hard conditions and the friendly relations is a precious asset which should be used for further expansion of bilateral relations.
Underlining that Iran is ready for conclusion of comprehensive document on long-term and strategic cooperation between Tehran and Beijing, President Rouhani said the two sides have full political determination to promote mutual relations and such a will should be manifested in other domains, economic sector in particular.
He said the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to have necessary cooperation in compilation of the document so that it will soon be finalized and signed.
He referred to abundant capacities available for expansion of mutual cooperation in various industrial, mining, transportation, railway, ports, new technologies, cultural, and academic, tourist, environment and energy sectors and said Iran is also ready to embark on joint investment in various fields, including petrochemical industry and refinery in China. Additionally, Iran enjoys geographical advantage to turn into center for China's economic activities in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus, he added.
He underlined making a great upheaval in mutual economic relations in the post-JCPOA and post-sanction eras and said, 'We predict that volume of Tehran-Beijing economic relations will reach $600 billion in the next 10 years.'
Elsewhere in his remarks, President Rouhani described terrorism as 'a big danger' to regional and world nations and emphasized that Tehran and Beijing can bolster effective cooperation to guarantee security and stability of the region. 'We believe that regional problems, including those in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have no military solution and should be solved through diplomacy.'
He said countries' borders should be respected and the fate of any country should be decided by its people.
'Iran and China can have constructive and close cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism.'

Also praising the constructive and positive role of China in Iran-G5+1 talks, President Rouhani said Iran is determined as before to expand ties and cooperation with China, while proceeding with implementation of the JCPOA. 'We are interested in upgrading peaceful nuclear cooperation while modernizing Arak reactor.'
The Chinese president, for his part, underlined the need for drawing up bright prospect for the future of bilateral relations. 'China is determined to upgrade ties and cooperation based on mutual confidence and interests; in this line, we are after compilation of the comprehensive and executive document of 25-year cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran soon.'
He said a new opportunity is now available for Tehran-Beijing strategic relations. 'In its cooperation and relations with Iran, China seeks mutual interests and has been moving in the win-win line. We are ready to use the opportunity available and draw up a long-term prospect for bilateral, regional and international relations.'
He underlined China's support for Iran's peaceful nuclear energy and said Beijing is ready to upgrade cooperation with Iran in peaceful use of nuclear energy.
He emphasized that China supports Iran's permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Saying that industrial and economic capacity of Tehran and Beijing are complementary to each other, he said China is ready to strengthen cooperation with Iran in various industrial and economic sectors.
The Chinese President said campaign against terrorism will be possible in light of prompt actions by the international community. Terrorism should be confronted through further integrity and cohesion of forces and China is ready to boost cooperation and coordination with Iran in this connection.
Xi Jinping said like Iran, China believes that differences among regional countries should be solved through diplomacy and dialogue and 'We hope that regional countries should settle differences through adherence to good-neighborliness and via dialogue and logics.'
He concluded that Beijing supports Tehran's constructive role in regional affairs and is ready to further strengthen coordination and cooperation based on the interests of both sides.
The Chinese president arrived in Tehran on Friday evening.
Xi's Tehran visit took place after 14 years after the then Chinese president Jiang Zemin traveled to Iran.
In the statement, the two presidents announced that they have reached an agreement on a comprehensive strategic partnership in all international, regional and bilateral issues.
The joint Tehran-Beijing statement also included a road map for deepening of bilateral relations in different fields.
Earlier, top Iranian and Chinese officials inked 17 agreements and documents on bilateral cooperation on Saturday morning.
1420**1412

http://www.irna.ir/en/News/81932359/

---

IZAKOVIC