Foreign Minister Marise Payne and her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdullahian spoke on the phone on Tuesday and discussed the development and deepening of bilateral relations and cooperation, as well as regional and international issues.
A statement issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Feb 01 said that the Iranian foreign minister congratulated the Australian minister of foreign affairs, government and people on the National Day of Australia, describing the half-century history of friendly relations between Iran and Australia as a common asset of the two countries and described the presence of the educated Iranian community in Australia as a cultural bridge between the two nations.
Referring to the capacities of bilateral relations, Amir Abdollahian announced his readiness to expand cooperation between the two countries in different fields, including trade, investment and scientific exchanges between the public and private sectors of Iran and Australia and joint planning in this regard.
“The development of The Iranian-Australian Spikogen vaccine is a successful example of constructive collaboration”, he added.
He also called the recent visit of the Australian special representative for Afghanistan to Tehran a success, adding that new areas of cooperation between the two countries regarding Afghanistan were defined during this visit.
Iranian foreign minister reiterated the need for the international community’s attention to the situation of refugees and the formation of an inclusive Afghan government with the participation of all ethnic groups.
According to the statement Foreign Minister Marise Payne also thanked the Islamic Republic of Iran for its cooperation and effective consultations during the visit of the Australian special representative for Afghanistan, and expressed hope that the two countries would work closely together on Afghanistan to encourage the Taliban to live up to their commitments and to make sure that Afghanistan will not become a safe haven for terrorist groups and transnational crimes such as human trafficking and drug trafficking.
She welcomed the expansion of relations in bilateral areas, and said Australia supports the talks in Vienna.
Regarding the JCPOA talks, the Iranian foreign minister emphasized that Iran is open to and emphasizes the achievement of a good agreement in these talks.
He also requested for the special attention to the rights of Iranians living in Australia and especially the consular status of some of Iranian citizens who are facing problems in Australia.
