India hopes to boost mutual cooperation with Iran: SM Krishna

TEHRAN: Ahead of the 16th NAM Summit, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has said that India hopes to boost mutual cooperation with Iran especially in the economic sector.

The remarks came even as US has been leaning on India to decrease its engagement with Tehran which has been hit by a series of sanctions slapped by Washington and some other Western countries.

Krishna yesterday told reporters upon his arrival at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport that India, as a founder member of NAM, thinks of boosting cooperation among the movement's member states.

He said India and Iran have long had friendly relations and New Delhi hopes to boost mutual cooperation especially in economic area, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said in a report.

Krishna had held bilateral talks with his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi last evening during which the two sides focused on trade and economy.

The recently held trilateral meeting of India, Iran and Afghanistan, which was undertaken to brainstorm strategies for operating the crucial Chabahar port, was also discussed.

Krishna and Salehi focused on bilateral trade and economy during which payment mechanism was also discussed.