President Raeisi: China welcomes Iran’s bid to join BRICS

Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi says China has welcomed the Islamic Republic’s bid to join the group of the world’s emerging economies, known as BRICS.

According to Press TV, speaking to reporters in Tehran on Thursday after wrapping up an official three-day state visit to China, President Raeisi said Tehran’s membership in the bloc will be fruitful.

“There was a discussion about Iran’s membership in BRICS, and we saw China’s desire for this membership,” he said.

“We have an effective role in the field of security in the region and across the world and we should play an effective role in the field of economy and trade as well,” the president noted.

President Raeisi added that Iran’s good relations with China, as an emerging economy in the world which plays a leading role in Asia, can be very effective for Tehran at the regional and global levels.

The BRICS group comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Their economies account for more than 40% of the global population and nearly a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product.

Pointing to his “very fruitful and successful” visit to China, the Iranian president expressed hope that Tehran and Beijing would witness further improvement of cooperation in various fields, particularly in trade and economy.

Raeisi said Tehran and Beijing are firmly determined to strengthen cooperation in the fields of trade, economy, energy, science and technology, and signed 20 documents and memorandums of understanding in this regard.

He noted that the two countries’ ministers held good discussions in the energy, industry, trade, and road and urban development sectors and agreed to expand bilateral relations in such areas based on the transfer of technology.

In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Tuesday, President Raeisi said Iran and China are “friends in hard times,” arguing that further strengthening of relations between the two countries will contribute to the security of the region and the world.

Iranian president underscored the need for the expansion of Iran-China ties in different economic, trade, scientific, and cultural areas, as well as the implementation of a strategic 25-year agreement between the two countries, which he said is “pivotal” to peace and stability in the region.

Iran and China signed a landmark 25-Year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement in March last year in defiance of unilateral sanctions against the two countries imposed by the United States.

The deal officially documents the Sino-Iranian comprehensive strategic partnership that had been announced during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Tehran in 2016. It sets the outlines of cooperation in political, cultural, security, defense, regional, and international domains for the next 25 years.

ME