Iran officially joins Asean treaty: Report

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) ratified Iran's membership in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) on Thursday, the media reported.

In a ceremony on the sidelines of the 51st Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Singapore, Iran officially joined the TAC treaty in the presence of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Tasnim news agency reported.

According to official IRNA news agency, there was a consensus among southeast Asian countries to accept Iran as a party to the treaty.

This indicated the significance of interaction with Iran as an important and influential country in regional and international equations, the report said.

On Wednesday, Zarif met Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for talks on the bilateral ties, major regional and international issues, as well as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the multilateral nuclear agreement from which the US government withdrew in May.

In separate meetings, Zarif held talks with his Japanese, Filipino and Turkish counterparts on the sidelines of the Asean meeting to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues.

--IANS

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