Zarif describes his Balkans tour as “successful”, hailing ties with Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tabnak – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif finished his tour to the Balkans today with visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina as his last destination. Commenting on the achievements of his tour, Zarif described meetings with the Balkan officials as successful. 

According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Friday described his visit to Eastern Europe and Balkans as successful, saying that the tour will help deepen ties with those countries.

“After successful visits to Belgrade, Sofia and Zagreb, in Sarajevo today (Friday) and pleased to be able to commit to strengthening our deep ties with all Bosnians,” Zarif wrote in a Tweet on Friday. “Thanking B&H (Bosnia and Herzegovina) leaders for affirming that the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina will never forget Iran’s long-standing support,” he added. 

During his stay in Sarajevo, Zarif said Iran and Bosnia and Herzegovina must jointly fight terrorism to promote peace and security in the region and across the world.

"The fight against terrorism and extremism is a common concern of Iran, Bosnia and the European Union. Extremism has nothing to do with Islam and other religions," Zarif said in a meeting with Bakir Izetbegovic, the Muslim Bosnian member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency.

He further stressed the importance of removing obstacles in the way of developing trade ties and said Iran can be a secure energy supplier for Bosnia.

Izetbegovic, for his part, commended the proper level of political and cultural relations between Tehran and Sarajevo and said the lifting of sanctions against Iran has prepared the ground for improving economic cooperation.

A day before, on Thursday, in his meeting with Zarif in Zagreb, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic hailed Iran's positive and constructive role in restoring stability to the Middle East, calling for the reinforcement of bilateral ties.

Plenkovic described the Islamic Republic as an influential country. "Iran is making efforts in line with restoring regional stability," he said. The Croatian premier also stressed that cooperation with Iran, especially in the economic and trade sectors, should be continued and expanded.

Zarif, for his part, expressed his keenness to develop Tehran-Zagreb relations in all fields, including Halal tourism, energy, agriculture, food industry, advanced technology and banking cooperation.

Also on Thursday, Croatian Foreign Minister Marija Pejcinovic Buric expressed her country's and Europe's support for keeping and implementing the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal.

The accord, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is one of the most important and strongest agreements in its kind, which has led to more stability and paved the way for increasing Iran's cooperation with the world, she said.  

Heading a politico-economic delegation, Iranian minister left Tehran for a visit to four Eastern European countries on Monday. After visiting Serbia, Bulgaria and Croatia, Zarif arrived in Sarajevo on Thursday on the last leg of his tour of Balkans and Eastern Europe.

A high-ranking trade delegation comprising of economic activists and entrepreneurs from private and public sectors accompanied Zarif during his four-nation tour.