TEHRAN -- During his official visit to Iran, Moroccan House of Representatives Speaker Abdelouahed Radi met with Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Alaedin Borujerdi on Wednesday.

In this meeting, Borujerdi expressed Iran’s interest in strengthening ties between the two countries, adding that the visit of Moroccan House of Representatives speaker marks the opening of a new chapter in Iran-Morocco relations, particularly in regard to parliamentary and international cooperation. Citing a phrase of Iranian Supreme Leader’s speech on the occasion of New Iranian Year in which he had emphasized the need to maintain unity among Islamic nations and to expand ties with Islamic countries, Borujerdi, who also chairs the Iran-Morocco Parliamentary Friendship Group, said “Today, we see a tangible and desirable progress in Iran’s relations with regional countries.”

Pointing to violence in Iraq which claims tens of innocent lives every single day, Borujerdi blamed the remnants of the Baath Party and provocations by Al-Qaeda terrorist group as the main causes of insecurity in Iraq. He added that the continued presence of the occupiers in the country amounts to the escalation of the crisis.

The Moroccan official appreciated the Iranian Parliament for its warm hospitality during the meeting and said that parliamentary friendship groups could play a key role in strengthening mutual bonds and facilitating the implementation of bilateral treaties.

Radi also lauded Iran’s foreign policy in setting priority for the expansion of ties among Islamic and Arab states, adding that the regional countries would benefit from such a policy.

Sympathizing with the Iraqi people, Radi expressed his country’s outright opposition against the presence of foreign forces in Iraq and called for their immediate withdrawal so that peace and security can be established in the country.

The senior Moroccan MP also called the Palestine issue as “a national issue of his country” and said Rabat enthusiastically supports an independent Palestinian state with Beit-ul-Moqaddas as its capital.

The Moroccan official also supported Iran’s legal right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Radi extended an official invitation to Iran-Moroccan parliamentary friendly group to visit Morocco.