Zarif: Iran ready to cooperate with ASEAN

Tehran is ready to cooperate with the Association of South-East Asian Nations, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told his Singaporean counterpart K. Shanmugam during a meeting in Tehran Tuesday. Zarif expressed hope that the Singaporean foreign minister’s trip to Tehran would lead to the expansion of bilateral relations. He also called for cultural and parliamentary cooperation between the two countries. For his part, K. Shanmugam said that Iran and Singapore have great economic capacities, adding that Singaporean corporations are willing to do business with Iran. He also said ASEAN members are interested in cooperation with Iran. The two sides officials also exchanged views on political, cultural and economic areas. The chief Singaporean diplomat also met with Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani on Monday. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia which was formed on August 8, 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.