Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe have insisted on closer cooperation between the two countries.

In a Wednesday meeting in Colombo, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe also weighed plans for closer cooperation between the two countries in the international organizations.

They held talks on the bilateral, regional and international issues.

The two senior diplomats also explored avenues for enhanced ties in the oil and petrochemical industry, construction projects, banking affairs and agriculture.

Zarif has earlier held meetings with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and with Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya during his stay in the South Asian country.

The Iranian foreign minister is scheduled to visit Singapore to sign a treaty between Iran and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Iran’s Foreign Ministry says there is consensus among the member states of the ASEAN to accept Iran as a member of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).

ASEAN is a regional intergovernmental organization comprising ten Southeast Asian countries that promotes intergovernmental cooperation.