MNA� Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has received Mr. Mohamad Maliki bin Osman, Singaporean Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss trade and economic relations.

Mr. Larijani highlighted the history of diplomatic relations with Singapore and said that the current delegation would bring more dynamism to bilateral trade; "no barrier would mar trade and economic relations between Iran and Singapore at the current time; Iran welcomes more improved relations with the Southeast Asian country and would hail investments in Iran by Singaporean enterprises," he told the meeting, turning to the terrorism which had been plaguing the region; "Middle East has been grappling with terrorism and its aftermath; the resilience of terrorist groups lies in the fact that some countries in the region actively support and arm terrorist groups and provide ideological support as well; in such an environment, terrorism would survive and reproduce itself, to contribute to the vicious circle," he lamented.

Larijani believed that Iran enjoyed unique stability and peace in a region mired on�war and other conflicts, a thing made the country ripe for investments and economic projects, especially after the JCPOA which opened Iran's markets to the world, albeit in limited way; "healthy banking transaction is crucial to any economic relation which seeks to benefit both sides; EU countries have grasped the opportunity thus created for investment in untapped markets of Iran, however, the US had been threatening banks and financial institutions and demoralizing them not to work with Iran or provide services to firms working with Iran," he objected. "This is a pretext to keep other companies at bay and introduce American companies to lucrative Iranian economic projects," said the Parliament speaker.

Mr. Maliki bin Osman for his part believed that Iran had been an important player in the region and enjoyed a civilization of great consequence in the history; "Singapore's businesses welcome relations and trade with Iran, where there have been great opportunities to trade; both sides should work to improve Parliamentary ties as well," he said.

Mr. Osman also hailed Iran's implementation of its share of the JCPOA as a factor which would restore trust by economic firms on the country, adding that Iran's university students had been a great asset to the country and exchange programs would provide a bridge through which both sides could effectively channel these talents to venues to generate economic wealth.