Iranian President on the second day of his official visit to India sought to strengthen the relations between the two countries and extend the cooperation in various fields including agriculture and advanced technologies.
Hassan Rouhani, who will leave Hyderabad for New Delhi this evening for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Indian leaders on Saturday said Iran was ready to help India in meeting its growing energy needs from its rich resources of gas and oil.
Hassan Rouhani, who addressed a Friday congregation at the historic Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad specifically referred to Iranian port of Chabahar saying Iran was very happy to give India access to Afganistan and Central Asia through Chabhar port.
“Iran wishes to increase the cooperation with India in various fields and facilitate the travel between the two countries by easing the visa process so that more people from the two countries can travel more frequently. Iran hopes that India will reciprocate in this matter”, he said
“People of Iran have a India and its people close to their hearts and people in India have also shown the similar love and affection towards Iran”, he said.
Referring to Chabahar port, Rouhani said that Iran was ready to help India in getting access to Afghanistan and Central Asia through the port. “Our two great nations can cooperate in the field of agriculture and advance technologies in the over all interest of the people of India and Iran”, he said.
He also called for the joint efforts by Iran and India to strengthen the security and peace in the region. In this contest he said Iran was making its best efforts to prevent the violence and bloodshed in Iraq and Syria and restore the peace.
The visit of Shia leader Rouhani to a sunni mosque Mecca Masjid, his offering prayers there and his address to the gathering was quite
significant and was being seen as an effort by Iran to reach out to the Muslims throughout the world in the context of attempts by Saudi Arabia to isolate it.
Though many Iranian leaders including the present Iranian spiritual leader Ayatullah Khamnaei and President Khatemi had also visited Hyderabad in the past, Hassan Rouhani is the first leader for whom the doors of the grandest mosque in Hyderabad was opened.
He praised nearly four hundred year old Mecca Masjid as a symbol of “common civilisation, cultural heritage and architecture of India and Iran”.
“The cultural heritage and the historic monuments in Hyderabad indicate the centuries old relations and the common heritage of Muslims of Iran and Deccan”, he said.
Calling for the unity and peace among the Shias and Sunni sects of Islam, Iranian President said, “Shia and Sunnis are two denominations of Islam with one and the same goal of to uphold the moral values and teachings of Islam. It is our duty to spread the peace and harmony among all the people in the world”.
Hassan Rouhani was all praise for the peace and tranquility among the followers of different faiths in India. “This gives us immense pleasure to see the unity and amity among the followers of different religions and faiths in India and we wish that this peace should continue”, he said.
He alleged that the West and the “enemies of Islam” were seeking to create the hostilities among Muslims in different countries.
He said Iran was helping the people in Iraq, Syria and other countries who were facing bloodshed because of the conspiracies of the West.