Respecting national sovereignty most effective way to counter regional terrorism: Raisi

President Raisi made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his accompanying delegation in Tehran on Sunday.

Pointing to Turkey's security concerns in the region, President Raisi considered the most effective way to deal with terrorism to respect the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries in the region, adding that the effective exercise of national sovereignty of any government over all its territories is the best way to prevent terrorists and anti-security activities.

Referring to the cultural and historical commonalities between Iran and Turkey, the president expressed hope that the level of cooperation between Iran and Turkey will be further improved in the new term of Erdogan's presidency.

Highlighting the necessity of confronting the presence of foreign countries in different regions, including the Caucasus, the Iranian president emphasized resolving problems through dialogue and cooperation among the countries of any region.

President Raisi further considered the activation of the Joint Economic Cooperation Commission as effective in paving the way for stepped-up trade interactions between the two countries and exchanging mutual potential.

The Turkish foreign minister, for his part, stated that Iran and Turkey have a lot of potential to expand and strengthen their cooperation and interactions with each other, and considered it possible to achieve the target of raising the level of bilateral trade to $30 billion. He also stressed Turkey's will to achieve that target.

Fidan further stated that expanding the level of interaction between the two countries requires special attention and support from the leaders of Iran and Turkey. He further asked for the Islamic Republic of Iran's support for his country's membership in the BRICS group, as well as the dialogue and cooperation between the two countries in the field of resolving regional issues.