Zarif: Idea of Regional Dialogue Forum Mooted at Qatar Meeting

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the idea of setting up a regional dialogue forum has been put forward in his “important” talks with foreign officials at an Asian conference in Doha.

In a post on his Twitter account on Wednesday, Zarif pointed to his plans at the 16th ministerial meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue [ACD] in Qatar.

The top Iranian diplomat has held several meetings with senior foreign officials and his counterparts on the sidelines of the event.

“In Doha at ministerial meeting of Asian Cooperation Dialog. Important talks with Qatar’s Emir & FM, & ministers of several countries. Emphasized importance of creating a Regional Dialog Forum, & aligning our capabilities to contain expanding unilateralism,” Zarif said in the message, citing his interview with al-Jazeera English.

On Wednesday, Zarif held separate meetings with the foreign ministers of Turkey, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, and Kazakhstan.

Zarif also delivered a speech to the conference, in which he emphasized the necessity for multilateralism and collective efforts to stand against the US administration’s unilateral policies.

Established in 2001, the Asian Cooperation Dialogue has 34 member countries. Its first meeting was held in Thailand in 2002 with 18 Asian founding countries in attendance.

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani has announced in a Twitter post that the country’s priority during its presidency over the ACD meeting would be to reach an Asian consensus, enhance cooperation, develop mechanisms for joint work, and strengthen economic and commercial ties.