TEHRAN - In a message to his Kazakh counterpart on Monday, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran felicitated Kazakhstan’s Independence Day and called for promotion of cooperation between the two friendly nations. 

In his message to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Rouhani said “I intend to express my pleasure over promotion of cooperation between the two nations in line with bilateral interests similar to the last 3 decades.” 

Kazakhstan’s Day of Independence is celebrated annually on December 16.

Kazakhstan was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In mid-November, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Kazakh counterpart Mukhtar Tleuberdi explored avenues for broadening mutual cooperation.

During their meeting in the Kazakh capital Nur Sultan, the two sides discussed trade and economic cooperation, especially within the Caspian Sea legal regime, port and transport cooperation, and consular relations. 

MJ/PA