TEHRAN – Iran and China are to sign a 25-year cooperation agreement later today, Tehran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh said, as the US foes move closer together.
The pact, which will include “political, strategic and economic” components, will be signed by visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who arrived in Tehran late yesterday, Khatibzadeh told state television.
“We believe this document can be very effective in deepening” Iran-China relations, the spokesman said, recalling that the pact had first been proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in January 2016 during a visit to Tehran.
Xi and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani agreed then to establish a roadmap for “reciprocal investments in the fields of transport, ports, energy, industry and services”.
A signing ceremony hosted by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif took place at midday. – AFP, March 27, 2021
