East Asia peace, stability important to entire world: President Rouhani

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has emphasized the importance of peace and stability in East Asia for the whole world, stressing that the escalation of tensions in the region should be avoided.

“Peace and stability in East Asia is important to all of us, and everyone should prudently safeguard security and tranquility, particularly in the region of East Asia,” President Rouhani said in a meeting with Kim Yong-nam, the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 17th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) on Venezuela’s Margarita Island on Sunday.

“Potential problems and disagreements in [various] regions should be resolved by means of political methods and by the regional countries [themselves] and it is unacceptable that some major powers, through their intervention, turn regional issues into confrontations among regional nations,” Rouhani said.

Kim, for his part, described Pyongyang-Tehran relations as age-old, saying that his country welcomes the promotion of ties with Iran.

East Asia, particularly, the Korean Peninsula, has been the scene of increased tensions recently. The detonation of a nuclear bomb by North Korea last Friday stirred up tensions by angering South Korea, which turned to its extra-regional ally the United States in a bolstered push for protection against perceived threats from the North.

Seoul and Washington had already been in talks for the deployment of US missiles on South Korean soil following Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test when North Korea announced it had conducted a fifth.

US presence in the region has irked regional powers Russia and China, as well as North Korea.

Separately, the Iranian president met with Algerian Parliament Speaker Abdul Qadir bin Saleh in Margarita.

During that meeting, President Rouhani underscored the significance of preserving and strengthening security in the Middle East and North Africa and said Muslim and revolutionary countries, like Iran and Algeria, shoulder great responsibilities under the current circumstances to restore the fraternity and security of Muslims.

“The Algerian Revolution and the Islamic Revolution in Iran, as two major and influential revolutions in the region, enjoyed popular and Islamic characteristics. Algerians revolted against colonization and the domination of outsiders, and the Iranian nation stood up against domestic despotism and foreign colonization,” Rouhani said.

President Rouhani further pointed out that Iran and Algeria have vast capacities and potentials to expand bilateral cooperation in the fields of banking, industry, science and tourism.

The top Algerian legislator, for his part, highlighted his country’s determination to expand relations with Iran.

He also made a reference to the ongoing insecurity in North Africa, noting that regional problems must be resolved through dialog and without outside interference.

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