Defence Minister Rajnath Singh meets Iranian counterpart in Tehran, discusses bilateral ties

Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday during his visit to Iran met the country's Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami in Tehran while returning from Moscow. Several important issues related to bilateral relations between the two countries were discussed.

Singh said that the issue of regional security was also discussed in the meeting which included the issue of restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan. Taking to Twitter, he wrote: "Had a very fruitful meeting with Iranian defense minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami in Tehran. We discussed regional security issues including Afghanistan and the issues of bilateral cooperation."

In this meeting, the two leaders stressed on strengthening the cultural, linguistic, and social relations between India and Iran. During this time, ways to take the relationship between the two countries to the next level were also discussed.

"Both the Defence Ministers discussed ways to take forward bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional security issues, including peace and stability in Afghanistan," Singh's office said in a separate tweet on the meeting held at the request of the Iranian defense minister.

Iranian Defence Minister Hatami and his Indian counterpart Singh held talks in Tehran on international, regional, and bilateral issues, Iran's official Irna news agency reported on Sunday. Singh's visit is the first travel of a top Indian official to Iran since the coronavirus outbreak.

Singh's visit to Iran, a major regional player, is considered to be significant as it came after he voiced India's deep concern about the situation in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf.

Notably, Singh was on a two-day visit to Moscow to attend the SCO meeting, where China's Defense Minister Wei Fanghe requested for a meet.  At that meeting, Singh told the Chinese to restore the old status-quo in Ladakh.