The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran arrived in Dushanbe, on Sunday night to attend the Ninth Conference on the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process.

Iran Press/Asia: Upon arrival at Dushanbe International Airport, Mohammad Javad Zarif was greeted by a number of Tajik government officials.

The Iranian Foreign Minister will pay a two-day visit to Tajikistan to attend the 9th conference "Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process" and to hold talks with senior Tajik officials on bilateral relations.

On the sidelines of the conference, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will meet with the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The first Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process meeting was held in 2011 to expand regional cooperation with Afghanistan with the participation of foreign ministers of 14 countries, including Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia. Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the UAE were held in Istanbul, Turkey.

Currently, 15 countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are members of the  Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process.

The United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Finland, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom all support the heart of Asia. 219