Minister Nitin Gadkari conveyed good wishes from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to President Pezeshkian on assuming office….reports Asian Lite News
The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, attended the swearing-in ceremony of the President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, on Tuesday.
The Union Minister represented the Indian government at the Iranian president’s swearing-in ceremony.
Minister Nitin Gadkari conveyed good wishes from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to President Pezeshkian on assuming office.
During Gadkari’s interactions in Iran, both sides positively assessed the state of bilateral relations, including cooperation on the development of Chabahar Port.
Moreover, both sides underscored that Chabahar Port would contribute to strengthening bilateral and regional trade.
It would further provide access to landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asian countries to regional and global markets.
Snap elections were held in Iran after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a chopper crash along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials in Iran’s remote northwest in May.
Earlier this month, reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian secured a win in the presidential elections in Iran, CNN reported, citing Press TV.
Out of the 30.5 million votes counted in the runoff, Pezeshkian received over 16.3 million votes, while his ultraconservative rival Saeed Jalili got more than 13.5 million votes.
According to election headquarters under the auspices of the interior ministry, the voter turnout was 49.8 per cent in Iran’s presidential elections, the report said.
Pezeshkian was elected in a second round of voting after he received the highest number of votes in the first round, ahead of Jalili. The first round witnessed the lowest turnout for a presidential election since Iran was established in 1979.
Pezeshkian was sworn in, in the presence of dignitaries from nearly 90 countries, and announced a policy of “constructive and effective” engagement with the world while offering his country’s participation in solving regional and global issues.
In his address to the gathering after his swearing-in, Pezeshkian urged the world “to seize the unique opportunity to solve regional and global problems with the participation of a powerful, peace-seeking, and dignified Iran”, local Iranian news agencies reported.
“We will seek constructive and effective engagement with the world based on the principles of dignity, wisdom and expediency,” he said.
He stressed his administration’s readiness to continue negotiations with major global powers in order to remove the anti-Iran sanctions, reminding the West and Washington that Iran’s nuclear programme is peaceful as it has been verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
He stressed that Iran remained committed to its commitments under the nuclear deal.
“Pressure and sanctions do not work (in dealing with Iran),” Pezeshkian said in a remark aimed at the Western powers and called on them to “show respect to the noble Iranian nation”.
Among those present at the ceremony were Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, and Prime Ministers Irakli Kobakhidze of Georgia, Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia, Hussein Arnous of Syria, and Manuel Marrero Cruz of Cuba.
Russia’s Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Turkmenistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Rashid Meredov, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdel Ati, Saudi Arabian Minister of Interior Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani and European Union’s deputy foreign policy chief Enrique Mora were also present.
Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar led his country’s delegation.
Among other foreign leaders that were present were Qatar’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad bin Sultan Al Muraikhi, Kazakhstan Senate Chairman Ashimbayev Maulen Sagathanuly, Malaysia’s House of Representatives Speaker Tan Sri Dato Johari bin Abdul, Uzbekistan’s Oliy Majlis Speaker Nuriddin Ismoilov, and Senegal National Assembly’s President Amadou Mame Diop.
Hamas’ Head of the Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem, Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement Secretary-General Ziad al-Nakhalah, and Yemen’s Ansarullah spokesman Mohammad Abdul Salam also participated in the ceremony.
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