PARLIAMENT SPOKESMAN'S COMMENTS ON SPEAKER ABDULLAH TARMUGI'S VISIT TO IRAN
In response to media queries on Speaker Abdullah Tarmugi’s visit to Iran, the Parliament spokesman said:
“It was the first high level visit by a Singapore parliamentary group to Iran. The visit reciprocated the visit to Singapore by an Iranian parliamentary group in 2005. It was a very successful visit.
Speaker Abdullah Tarmugi was warmly received by Dr Gholamali Haddad Adel, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, who hosted dinner on 15 January. At the meeting prior to dinner, Dr Haddad Adel noted that developing relations with Asia including Singapore was an important priority in Iran’s foreign policy due to Asia’s dynamic growth. He commented that while Singapore’s population was small, it was of high quality as far as human resources were concerned. Dr Haddad Adel also praised Singapore’s multiculturalism and inter-racial harmony. Speaker said he was happy to be visiting Iran as a friend and expressed the hope that there will be further bilateral exchanges. Given Singapore’s excellent links with key countries such as China and India, Speaker said that Singapore was well positioned as a gateway for the Middle East including Iran to engage with Asia.
Speaker also called on Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chairman of the Expediency Council yesterday. It was a warm and cordial meeting. Ayatollah Rafsanjani noted that parliamentary exchanges were important for Iran and expressed the hope that Speaker would leave with a better understanding of Iran and its people. Ayatollah Rafsanjani noted that Singapore represented a good model for others. For example, our ethnic and cultural diversity was a good example of peaceful coexistence amongst people of different faiths. Ayatollah Rafsanjani expressed satisfaction with the state of bilateral relations and noted that there was potential for further cooperation. Speaker congratulated Ayatollah Rafsanjani for his recent re-election into the Assembly of Experts by polling the highest number of votes.
Apart from visiting places of interest in Tehran, Speaker also met with several Iranian parliamentarians including Mr Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Chairman of the Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy and Seyed Hossein Hashemi, Chairman of the Iran-Singapore Parliamentary Friendship Group. They exchanged views on bilateral relations and regional issues. Both sides agreed to explore potential for increased economic engagement and business linkages.
Speaker and his delegation will be visiting the historical city of Isfahan today before concluding their visit to Iran.”
Office of the Clerk of Parliament
17 January 2007
