Increased engagements to benefit both Dhaka, Tehran

Iranian envoy S Javad Mazloumi tells The Independent

There should be more understanding as well as engagements between the peoples of Bangladesh and Iran in the interest of both the nations, which share many things in common especially religion and culture, according to S Javad Mazloumi, an envoy of the Iranian government.
In an exclusive interview with The Independent at the residence of the Iranian ambassador’s residence in Gulshan on October 22, he lamented that peoples of both the nations know much less about each other than they should. “We need to introduce Iran in Bangladesh in much better manner. Same applies to Bangladesh. This will help both the countries in many ways,” said Mazloumi, who also works as a representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“We have many things in common espe cially in terms of religion, culture and civilisation. And, Persian language and literature are very familiar in Bangladesh,” he said, adding, “We have a very good cooperation in these sectors, but this could be much better.”
The Iranian envoy also talked about trade and investment, cooperation in education through exchange programmes and good practices, bilateral, social, regional and international cooperation, economic cooperation, connectivity and Bangladesh’s relations with Saudi Arabia, an adversary of Iran.
To a question, he said that Iranian people know little about Bangladesh and if Bangladesh can be made familiar with the Iranians, Bangladesh could be a place for Iranian investors in the changed situation after the lifting of international sanctions against Tehran.
Mazloumi described the political relations with Bangladesh as very good, saying that there is no contentious issue between the two countries.
He also laid emphasis on introducing direct air link between Bangladesh and Iran to increase people-to-people contacts.
Expressing a little disappointment over the current state of exchange in education sector, the envoy said that currently less than 100 Bangladeshi students study in different universities in Iran while only five Iranian students study in Bangladesh.
“This figure can be much higher,” he added, hinting that Iran is ready to offer more scholarships for the Bangladeshi students, but Bangladesh will have to reciprocate in some way. Mazloumi placed great emphasis on regular visits of scholars from both the countries along with political leaderships.
“We and Bangladesh both belong to the Muslim ummah. There is scope of better cooperation in social sector through exchange of better practices,” he said.
As there is no sanction against Iran, there is potential for increased and substantive cooperation in trade, commerce and economy.  
The representative of the Iranian supreme leader was full of praise for Bangladesh for peaceful coexistence of all sectarians in Bangladesh, including the Shia community.
“I did not come across a single Bangladeshi with unfavourable views about Iran. Same thing is true in case of Iranian people towards Bangladesh. I have seen a desire among the peoples of the two countries to construct a cultural bridge,” he said. He expressed optimism that the future of the relationship between Dhaka and Tehran is good.
When asked if Dhaka’s relations and deep engagements with Iran’s adversary Saudi Arabia troubles Tehran, the envoy replied, “No. Every country has the right to engage with any country that will serve its purpose. We respect every country’s decision to engage with other countries.”
Mazloumi also said that Tehran has no objection to Dhaka’s joining in Saudi-led coalition against terrorism and violent extremism and support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. However, he added that Tehran believes that it is up to the people of Yemen to take decision about their affairs.

Increased engagements to benefit both Dhaka, Tehran

Iranian envoy S Javad Mazloumi tells The Independent

There should be more understanding as well as engagements between the peoples of Bangladesh and Iran in the interest of both the nations, which share many things in common especially religion and culture, according to S Javad Mazloumi, an envoy of the Iranian government. In an exclusive interview with The Independent at the residence of the Iranian ambassadors residence in Gulshan on October 22, he lamented that peoples of both the nations know much less about each other than they should. We need to introduce Iran in Bangladesh in much better manner. Same applies to Bangladesh. This will help both the countries in many ways, said Mazloumi, who also works as a representative of Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. We have many things in common espe cially in terms of religion, culture and civilisation. And, Persian language and literature are very familiar in Bangladesh, he said, adding, We have a very good cooperation in these sectors, but this could be much better. The Iranian envoy also talked about trade and investment, cooperation in education through exchange programmes and good practices, bilateral, social, regional and international cooperation, economic cooperation, connectivity and Bangladeshs relations with Saudi Arabia, an adversary of Iran. To a question, he said that Iranian people know little about Bangladesh and if Bangladesh can be made familiar with the Iranians, Bangladesh could be a place for Iranian investors in the changed situation after the lifting of international sanctions against Tehran. Mazloumi described the political relations with Bangladesh as very good, saying that there is no contentious issue between the two countries. He also laid emphasis on introducing direct air link between Bangladesh and Iran to increase people-to-people contacts. Expressing a little disappointment over the current state of exchange in education sector, the envoy said that currently less than 100 Bangladeshi students study in different universities in Iran while only five Iranian students study in Bangladesh. This figure can be much higher, he added, hinting that Iran is ready to offer more scholarships for the Bangladeshi students, but Bangladesh will have to reciprocate in some way. Mazloumi placed great emphasis on regular visits of scholars from both the countries along with political leaderships. We and Bangladesh both belong to the Muslim ummah. There is scope of better cooperation in social sector through exchange of better practices, he said. As there is no sanction against Iran, there is potential for increased and substantive cooperation in trade, commerce and economy. The representative of the Iranian supreme leader was full of praise for Bangladesh for peaceful coexistence of all sectarians in Bangladesh, including the Shia community. I did not come across a single Bangladeshi with unfavourable views about Iran. Same thing is true in case of Iranian people towards Bangladesh. I have seen a desire among the peoples of the two countries to construct a cultural bridge, he said. He expressed optimism that the future of the relationship between Dhaka and Tehran is good. When asked if Dhakas relations and deep engagements with Irans adversary Saudi Arabia troubles Tehran, the envoy replied, No. Every country has the right to engage with any country that will serve its purpose. We respect every countrys decision to engage with other countries. Mazloumi also said that Tehran has no objection to Dhakas joining in Saudi-led coalition against terrorism and violent extremism and support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. However, he added that Tehran believes that it is up to the people of Yemen to take decision about their affairs.