Iran, UAE Sign Aviation Coop. Agreement

Iran and the United Arab Emirates have signed a major agreement to cooperate on air transport services as the two Persian Gulf countries seek to deepen their economic and trade ties amid a regional détente.

The agreement was signed on Thursday in Dubai between head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization Mohammad Mohammadi Bakhsh and director-general of UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi.

The agreement will help Iran and the UAE expand their aviation connections in order to boost trade and tourism opportunities in the two countries.

Suwaidi said after signing the agreement that it would be a major step forward in efforts to bring to order the flights between Iran and the UAE, according to comments covered in a report by the RT Arabic.

He said the agreement stipulates that aviation authorities in Iran and the UAE should commit to highest standards existing in the industry about safety and quality of transport services.

The signing of the agreement came during a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian to the UAE.

Amirabdollahian said during the visit that Iran sees no limit to expanding its ties with the UAE while insisting that Tehran is opening a new chapter in its trade and economic ties with Arab countries of the Persian Gulf region.

Iran and the UAE are seeking to normalize their relations some seven years after they downgraded their diplomatic ties mainly because of problems that existed in political relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

That comes as Iran and Saudi Arabia reached an understanding in March in the Chinese capital Beijing to sort out their differences and to reopen their respective embassies. - Press TV