Iranian VP Calls for Further Cooperation among ACD Members

Iranian Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi called on the member-states of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) to further strengthen their interactions.

The Iranian vice-president made the remarks in separate meetings with the culture ministers of Kuwait and Tajikistan here in Tehran on Wednesday.

“There is a need for further expansion of cooperation among ACD member states,” Rahimi said.

The 1st meeting of ACD culture ministers opened here yesterday. Culture ministers from 32 ACD member states are reviewing cultural interactions during the two-day event.

The ACD was formed in June 2002 in Cha-Am, Thailand, where 18 Asian Foreign Ministers met together for the first time. The ACD is a continent-wide forum, the first of its kind in Asia. More specifically, the ACD aims to constitute the missing link in Asia by incorporating every Asian country and building an Asian Community without duplicating other organizations or creating a bloc against others.

The ACD member states include Iran, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, The Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Brunei, Mongolia, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, UAE and Bahrain.