Iran calls for new regional forum for Gulf

New Delhi: The Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called upon all the Persian Gulf countries to get involved in a principle-based regional dialogue in an attempt to restore peace and stability to the region.

Addressing the 2019 Raisina Dialogue Conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, Mohammad Javad Zarif proposed the formation of a “Regional Dialogue Forum”.

Such a platform is a must “particularly in the Persian Gulf region which has been the scene of so many wars in the last 4 decades; from Saddam Hussein’s aggression against Iran and later against Kuwait, to US operations and finally to the humanitarian nightmare in Yemen,” Zarif said.

“The inviolability of international boundaries; ; non-interference in internal affairs of others; the peaceful settlement of disputes; the unacceptability of threats or use of force, and the promotion of peace, stability, progress and prosperity in the region,” were the other pillars Zarif called to be observed for dialogue.

Zarif said that dialogue among countries is possible based on definitions provided in the Global Agenda on Dialogue among Civilizations adopted unanimously by the UN General Assembly in 2001.

Calling for a new paradigm, the top Iranian diplomat rejected international relations based on exclusion which meant that there had to be winners and losers in every given situation.

"We also extend our hand of friendship to our neighbors in the Persian Gulf region again, in order to move in this direction," Zarif said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Iranian Foreign Minister invited the countries of the region to abandon costly arms race which, according to him, prevented a constructive engagement to promote stability in the region.

The Raisina Dialogue is a multilateral conference held annually in New Delhi, India.

Every year, global leaders in policy, business, media and civil society are hosted in New Delhi to discuss cooperation on a wide range of pertinent international policy matters.