TEHRAN (Iran News) – Majlis Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said that the country has high potentials and capacities in various fields despite cruel U.S. sanctions imposed against Iran.

He made the remarks in his meeting with the Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Nurdinjon Ismoilov in Tashkent on Wednesday and hoped that the visit would be a turning point in broadening parliamentary ties between the two nations and governments of Iran and Uzbekistan.

The two countries of Iran and Uzbekistan enjoy high capacities to expand their bilateral ties in all fields, Ghalibaf emphasized.

Developing cooperation and interaction with neighboring and regional countries in various social, political, cultural, trade and security fields is the main policy of the 13th government under President Raisi, he added.

Currently, ‘geostrategic’ conditions in the world and geopolitics in the region are very sensitive and it seems necessary that neighboring and regional states enhance the level of their cooperation with one another through unity, amity and empathy.

Iran attaches great importance to its relationship with the Republic of Uzbekistan so that Uzbekistan has great and unique capacities in terms of economy as well as historical and cultural records, he said, adding that cooperation between Iran and Uzbekistan creates many opportunities for the two countries to develop bilateral cooperation, especially strengthening transit and transportation relations.

Emphasizing multilateral parliamentary cooperation, Ghalibaf said that the two countries must establish constructive and influential cooperation in Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

Ismoilov, for his part, said that the two countries of Iran and Uzbekistan have been equipped with high facilities for developing their relations in scientific, economic, cultural, transport and energy fields.

He said that both Iranian and Uzbek officials are interested in developing bilateral ties so that the two countries can expand their relations in all fields, especially in the area of transport.

Earlier Qalibaf had said that Iran has targeted $200b worth of trade with neighboring states

Speaking in a meeting with Iranian businessmen and producers in Tashkent, capital city of Uzbekistan, Qalibaf called for designing a logistic hub for facilitating trade ties between Iran and Uzbekistan.

He referred to the Iranian government and parliament’s foreign policy with regard to increasing interaction with neighbors, saying that Iran is after activating the private sector in these fields.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Qalibaf pointed to transit, visa problem, and preferential tariff as issues that are pursued by the Iran-Uzbekistan joint commission.

He also lauded Iran’s capacities in engineering services and knowledge-based fields.

Earlier, speaking during a press conference before his departure, the Iranian Parliament speaker said that parliamentary relations are undoubtedly of special significance in the relations between the two nations.

He said that Iran and Uzbekistan are very close both geographically and culturally, but the relations between the two countries have not developed in a way to match this closeness.

Qalibaf said that during his stay in Uzbekistan, he would have meetings with the heads of the country’s two parliaments and a number of the Iranian businesspersons working in Uzbekistan.

He expressed hope that the visit to the Central Asian country will help President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration’s foreign policy of prioritizing neighboring and Islamic countries.