Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani affirmed continuous cooperation between the two countries. (Photo : Twitter)
Chinese President Xi Jinping capped a successful three-nation visit to the Middle East after he and Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani signed 17 agreements affirming stronger ties between the two countries.
Xi arrived in Tehran on Saturday for the two-day trip, meeting with Rouhani. The two leaders discussed several key issues, including a new 25-year plan aimed at broadening the two countries' relationship and improving trade.
During the talks, the Chinese leader emphasized the importance of cooperation among countries. He then cited how the ancient Silk Road helped foster cooperation and friendly exchanges between China and its neighboring countries for close to two millennia, China Daily reported.
For his part, Rouhani announced that as part of the economic plan laid out, his country and the Asian giant are set to build economic ties in the next 10 years amounting to around $600 billion. The Iranian leader also hailed the Chinese president's visit as an important development in the country's relationship with China.
Xi's visit marks the first of a Chinese leader to the Middle Eastern country in 14 years.
The Chinese leader also went on to meet with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Yahoo News reported. Khamenei affirmed Iran's commitment to fostering relations with its Asian neighbor. China was one of the countries that continued trade with Iran during the economic sanctions imposed by Western countries.
The trade between the two countries amounted to around $52 billion in 2014.
China and Iran also signed 17 agreements covering several critical areas like politics, security, and cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Earlier in his trip, Xi met with Saudi leaders for the reopening of free trade talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council. He then proceeded to Egypt where he presented an offer of $55 billion worth of loans for countries in the Middle East.
