Zarif and Le Drian held talks for the second time in New York on the fringes of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
In a separate meeting also on Thursday morning (local time), the Iranian and Australian top diplomats exchanged views about issues of mutual interest.
Earlier, in remarks at a United Nations Security Council meeting titled UN Cooperation with Regional Organizations on Wednesday, Zarif underlined the need for regional cooperation to ensure security in the Persian Gulf, calling on the countries in the region to join the HOPE initiative to that effect.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani presented the initiative while delivering a speech at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday and invited all regional countries to participate in it.
“The initiative is based on the fact that all regional countries are duty-bound to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the region. Together with the international community, they have common interests in maintaining freedom of navigation and energy transfer,” Zarif said.
These regional efforts are necessary to prevent war, conflict, violence, extremism, terrorism and sectarian tensions, he added.
