Foreign minister Zarif discusses the nuclear deal with Singapore's prime minister
The Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, has met and conferred with prime minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong. The meeting took place in Singapore on the sidelines of the 51st summit of the foreign ministers of member states of ASEAN, the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations.
Zarif and Lee Hsien Loong met on Thursday, discussing Iran's nuclear issue, as well as bilateral ties, economic ties and trade, and important regional and international issues.
Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ) gathered in Singapore last Monday, for a week-long summit. Singapore currently holds the rotating presidency of ASEAN.
In his discussions with prime minister of Singapore, foreign minister Zarif mentioned Iran's special economic zones, mindful of the fact that Singapore's positive outlook and investment in special economic zones would be beneficial to both countries. In the current year, volume of trade between Iran and Singapore stands at 6.6 billion dollars.
Also in the first eight months of 2017 , the value of bilateral trade between Iran and Singapore stood at $ 487 million. This figure shows a ten percent growth , compared to the first eight months of previous year (2016 ).
The Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, heading a high ranking delegation , arrived in Singapore on Wednesday night , to take part in the 51st summit of the foreign ministers of ASEAN states, and to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation with ASEAN .
Iran is to officially join the TAC, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, during foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif's visit to Singapore.
TAC was signed by founding countries Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore in 1976. Other ASEAN members joined the TAC later to promote the treaty, and to regulate their conduct through a general emphasis on peaceful settlement of differences and the principle of noninterference.
Iran is an observer state in the TAC and part of the meeting was devoted to discussions regarding the full membership of the observer states including Iran.
The purpose of this Treaty is to promote peace,friendship and cooperation among the different peoples and nations of ASEAN, contributing to their strength, solidarity and closer relationship.
Image: ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (more commonly known as ASEAN) is a political and economic organization aimed primarily at promoting economic growth and regional stability among its members.
There are currently 10 member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.
ASEAN, the only regional economic community of its kind outside Europe and North America, aims to promote collaboration and cooperation among member states, as well as to advance the interests of the region as a whole, including economic and trade growth. It has negotiated a free trade agreement among member states and with other countries such as China, as well as eased travel in the region for citizens of member countries.
Video taken by Reuters
