China Defense Minister to visit Iran Wednesday
China and Iran have their eyes set on expanding cooperation in multiple areas, including in terms of defense, which will be underlined in the Chinese defense minister's visit to the Islamic Republic on Wednesday.
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Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe
Chinese National Defense Minister Wei Fenghe will be visiting Tehran on Wednesday for talks on regional and international issues between Tehran and Beijing.
Wei will be chairing a high-ranking military and defense delegation to the Islamic Republic, and he is expected to travel to Iran on April 27 for a bilat with his Iranian counterpart, Brigadier General Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani.
General Wei will also meet with several other senior Iranian officials in light of growing cooperation between the two countries. They will address the latest regional and international developments, in addition to ways Beijing and Tehran's armed forces could enhance cooperation on defense and security.
Top military officials from the two countries had agreed in late 2016 to set up a joint commission between their general staff as part of their objective to boost coordination and diplomatic and defensive interactions.
Iran and China's ministries of defense had already signed several bilateral accords, which entail defense-military cooperation between the two countries.
The two countries already share military experience, particularly in the field of training, not to mention combatting terrorism and causes of regional insecurity and instability.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had told his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that Tehran prioritized centering its foreign policy on Asia.
In a phone call with China's Foreign Minister, Abdollahian expressed that "Iran aspires to establish complete ties with China," adding that his nation underlined its commitment to implementing the strategic cooperation agreement for a 25-year term.
The Chinese foreign minister reaffirmed his country's preparedness to execute prior agreements between the two nations, including the strategic cooperation document.
Amir-Abdollahian had also announced that he would hold discussions with Chinese officials regarding bilateral Chinese-Iranian ties, the implementation of previous deals, and economic cooperation.
The two countries are strengthening cooperation as both are rapidly progressing in their respective chief economic markets.
