TEHRAN -- In a meeting on Tuesday with the new Bangladeshi ambassador to Tehran, Shamim Ahsan, Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani emphasized the need to promote bilateral economic and commercial ties.

Rafsanjani described the potential for cooperation between Iran and Bangladesh as great, saying, “The two countries with huge Muslim populations enjoy warm relations.

“Discovering the appropriate potential for cooperation and investment in Iran and Bangladesh can secure the interests of the two countries.”

The Islamic Republic has good technical and engineering equipment that it can export to Bangladesh, he added.

For his part, Ahsan said that the two nations enjoy many cultural and historical affinities, adding that the people of Iran and Bangladesh have had expansive relations from time immemorial, and therefore the capacity for cooperation can be promoted now.

The ambassador added that his country seeks to increase cooperation with Iran in all areas and expressed hope that the level of economic and commercial cooperation would increase.

The use of the Islamic Republic’s technical and engineering services in the oil, gas, and auto-manufacturing sectors would also help boost cooperation, he noted.