Rouhani Urges Regional States to Stop Destructive Rivalries, Cooperate in Anti-Terrorism Campaign

Rasa - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on all the regional countries to replace destructive rivalries which further fuel insecurities with cooperation in the campaign against terrorism and Takfiri thoughts.

News ID: 427774

Date: 01 March 2017 - 18:58

RNA - "Terrorism and Takfiri thoughts have made the world people face a common threat, and coordination and cooperation against this ominous phenomenon is now a necessity," President Rouhani said, addressing the 13th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit in Islamabad on Wednesday.

He reminded the death and displacement of hundreds of thousands people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen in recent years, and said these pains will make the region vulnerable to the internal conflicts and foreign interference.

"I deeply believe that we can live through this difficult area of test unharmed, provided that we hold belief in our ability to solve our problems instead of destructive rivalries," President Rouhani said.

"The ECO is a proper ground to build a more secure region for our nations," he underscored.

Rouhani had said on Tuesday that he planned to confer with members of the Economic Cooperation Organization about ways to strengthen campaign against terrorism in the region during the ECO summit in Pakistan on Wednesday.

"Today, the regional conditions are highly sensitive and unfortunately, some problems, including terrorism, have arisen in the region in recent years, and during the ECO summit, this issue will be studied with ECO leaders in addition to economic cooperation and security and regional issues," President Rouhani told reporters before leaving the country for Islamabad on Tuesday.

He expressed the hope that security would be revived to the region through cooperation among the regional states.

President Rouhani also underscored the importance of the relations with neighbors for Iran, adding that most ECO members are Iran's neighbors and cooperation among them is of vital importance to the future of the region.

ECO is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, which provides a platform to promote economic, technical and cultural cooperation among member-states.

The organization was expanded in 1992 to include seven new members, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

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