Hawzah News Agency (Qom, Iran) – During the meeting, Ayatollah Arafi, head of the Iranian Islamic Seminaries, congratulated them on the auspicious birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and describing Iran-China ties as very strategic saying, “The silk road that used to historically serve as the means of communication between Iran to China has now been replaced by modern ways of communication to strengthen the ties between these two great nations,”

He then reiterated that Iran is willing to develop scientific cooperation with China, especially with Chinese Muslims and their academic centers; “Considering present conditions in the Islamic world and international arena, it becomes clear that boosting cooperation between Iran and China along with all the other Islamic sects is of vital importance; I sincerely hope this visit paves the way for developing our further cooperation in future,” he said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Arafi asserted, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has been established based on Islam and its principles, while maintaining its revolutionary spirit, Iran is also considered as a law-abiding country on the global stage; all of Iran’s strategies are based on approximating different ethnicities, religions and sects,”

Head of the Iranian Seminaries further referred to al-Mustafa International University as one of the most significant scientific centers throughout the Islamic world adding, “To engage in discussions with followers of all divine religions, maintaining unity with other Islamic sects, fostering international relations as well as supporting the oppressed are among the basic foundations of the Islamic Revolutions’ dialogue whose scientific basis has been established in the city of Qom."

It must be noted that at the beginning of the meeting, head of the Chinese delegation expressed his enthusiasm on visiting Iran and then he referred to his last trip to the Islamic Republic which took place nearly 10 years ago adding, “Iran has enjoyed great progress and developments during the last decade,” 

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