Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf made the remarks while talking to reporters following a joint meeting with his visiting Algerian counterpart, Ibrahim Boughali and his accompanying delegation in Tehran on Monday.
The Iranian and Algerian sides discussed bilateral, regional, and international relations during the meeting, Ghalibaf noted.
Activating the Iran-Algeria economic commission was also highlighted during the recent Algerian Foreign Minister’s visit to Iran, he pointed out.
The commission will start work soon to prepare the ground for bolstering the mutual ties in the field of economy, he further noted.
The expansion of the shipping lines between the two countries and cooperation in the field of knowledge was another topic discussed in the meeting, he said.
Parliamentary cooperation between the two countries was also discussed which will lay the ground for enhancing political and economic relations, Ghalibaf asserted.
He called for a virtual meeting to call on the Islamic nations to take collective measures in reaction to the recent desecration of the Qur’an, he added.
The Iranian parliament speaker further explained that another issue that was discussed and agreed upon today was that since Mr. Boghali is also the head of the Islamic countries’ parliaments, a virtual meeting was needed amid the desecration of the Holy Qu’ran that has been taking place consecutively in Europe these days. He added that, “All parliaments of Islamic countries should have a serious follow-up on and all parliaments and speakers of Islamic parliaments should take a serious stance regarding that issue.”
“Since Algeria is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, this opportunity should be seized for international coordination and cooperation,” he added.
For his part, the Algerian parliament speaker, who was standing alongside his Iranain counterpart after the meeting, said that the visit was taking place to strengthen Algeria’s relations with friendly and brotherly countries, including the friendly country of the Islamic Republic of Iran, for which the Algerians respect a lot.
Boughali went on to call for stepped-up economic ties between the two nations in line with political relations. “Algeria has approved a new investment law that provides incentives to investors. We hope that Iran is one of the countries that could take advantage of this investment opportunity and that Iran’s achievements will be developed with the lifting of sanctions.”
“At the international level, fortunately, we are aligned with the Islamic Republic in many positions and we hope that relations will be strengthened more and more in the near future. At the level of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), we must do better, particularly regarding actions and desecrations that are done against sanctities,” he added.
“We must try to prevent people’s sentiments from being hurt; Because all religions are respectful and so is Islam. The sanctities of all religions should be respected,” the Algerian parliament speaker concluded.
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