Australian Envoy Stresses High Capacities for Cooperation with Iran

Australian Ambassador to Iran Ian Biggs underlined the need for using the potentials and capacities existing for the further expansion of ties and cooperation between Tehran and Canberra.

"Hormozgan province (in Southern Iran) enjoys many capacities for mutual cooperation between Iran and Australia and it can play an effective role in facilitating the trade relations between the two countries," Biggs said in a meeting with Governor-General of Hormozgan province Fereidoun Hemmati in Bandar Abbas on Sunday.

He added that fish breeding is one of the strong points of Hormozgan province which could serve as a good ground for mutual cooperation given Australia's capabilities in this field.

Biggs also said that nearly 100,000 Iranian nationals live in Australia and 3,000 Iranian students are admitted by his country's universities annually, adding that the capacity should be used to further broaden ties.

Australian officials have reiterated that they would keep on interacting with Iran despite the re-imposition of the US sanctions against Tehran.

"The current conditions surrounding the JCPOA have created problems for multilateral exchanges, but the Australian government will keep up its interaction with Iran," Director General of Australian Foreign Ministry’s Multilateral Policies Justin Lee said in a meeting with Head of Iran-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group Mahmoud Sadeqi in Tehran in August.

The Australian official criticized the US for withdrawing from the nuclear agreement with Tehran.

Sadeqi, for his part, underlined the importance of broadening of long-standing and growing ties between the two countries, and said, "We have always had permanent political, economic and cultural relations."

The Iranian lawmaker, meantime, appreciated Canberra’s alignment with the European states and not following US policies.

source: FARS News Agency