Dmitry Medvedev’s conversation with First Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Eshaq Jahangiri

The conversation took place on the sidelines of the meeting of heads of government of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Excerpts from the transcript:

Dmitry Medvedev: I cordially welcome you, esteemed First Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr Jahangiri. This is your first time in our country in this capacity, and I wish you every success.

You have established good contacts with my colleagues, and a multifaceted dialogue has been established between our countries. A trilateral Russia-Iran-Azerbaijan summit was held here, in Sochi, a week ago, and President Rouhani took part in it.

You and I met during the SCO Heads of Government Council Meeting, which is a multilateral international event. It provides a good opportunity to exchange information on Russian-Iranian cooperation in all areas, including the economy. I hope you will have some spare time to enjoy Sochi. I wish you a good stay in Sochi.

Eshaq Jahangiri (via interpreter): Thank you very much, Your Excellency, for inviting me here. I now have the opportunity to enjoy this beautiful city of Sochi. I was particularly interested in having a meeting with you, because I know that you are a very important and influential person in Russia, an experienced politician who has been both Prime Minister and President.

As you rightly noted, our relations are thriving in the political, economic and cultural spheres, and we have established cooperation on regional and international issues as well. Our cooperation with Russia in fighting terrorism, especially in Syria, sets an example of how terrorism should be fought at the international level. I hope that the summit of the three countries held here in Sochi last week will prove beneficial both for the people of Syria and the entire region. With regard to our bilateral agenda, our relations are at a high level, and our heads of state have met 12 times over the past four years.

President Putin’s visit to Tehran last month was very useful, and we hope that its outcomes will benefit our countries.

We note with satisfaction that trade between our countries grew in 2016 and the first half of 2017.