TEHRAN – Morteza Sarmadi, the second-ranking Iranian diplomat, on Friday renewed Tehran’s call for a serious fight against terrorism and extremist ideologies by the international community.

“Unfortunately, there is no country in the world that is not harmed by terrorism and there is no doubt in the necessity of fighting it,” Sarmadi told reporters at the end of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Beijing.

He described “unity” among the countries as the only way to counter terrorism.

Defeating and eradicating terrorism and sectarianism in the Middle East are the only ways to restore peace in countries like Syria and Iraq, Sarmadi remarked.

Elsewhere, he said boosting interaction and cooperation among CICA member states is one of Iran’s strategies, calling on CICA members to make efforts in line with expanding relations and maintaining peace and stability in the region. 

CICA is an inter-governmental forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.

Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam are CICA members.

NA/PA