Nirendra Dev
The swearing-in of the new Iranian President will take place on Thursday, August 5, 2021.
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar will make a two-day visit to Iran on August 5-6, 2021, to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President-elect Ayatollah Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi.
The swearing-in of the new Iranian President will take place on Thursday, August 5, 2021.
An MEA release said during his visit, Dr. Jaishankar will call on the Iranian President.
On the sidelines, the minister will also meet other Iranian leaders.
On July 7, both India and Iran sprang a major diplomatic surprise when Dr. Jaishankar traveled to Tehran, called on the Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi a month before he assumed office. Mr. Jaishankar and handed over a special message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It was only a transit halt by Jaishankar in Tehran during his travel to Moscow for bilateral consultations.
"I am sure this visit (July7) will be the basic basis for Iran-India relations during the Presidency of Ayatollah Raisi,” said Rasoul Mousavi, a senior diplomat in Iran.
Notably, the visit and unprecedented handing over of a goodwill note took place amid deepening concern over the security situation in Afghanistan in the wake of the withdrawal of US troops.
Incidentally, Dr. Jaishankar’s visit to Tehran in July also coincided with the visit of a senior Taliban delegation led by Taliban political bureau head Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai and Afghanistan’s former Vice-President Yunus Qanooni.
Earlier, the government of India had denied reports that Dr Jaishankar had met with Taliban leaders in Doha.
Sources, however, said India has been in “touch with various stakeholders”.
Thus, Dr. Jaishankar's visit now for a ceremonial meeting certainly has geostrategic significance in the region.
In July, Dr. Jaishankar also met with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.
“Appreciate [Mr. Raisi’s] warm sentiments for India. Deeply value his strong commitment to strengthen our bilateral ties and expand cooperation on regional and global issues,” he later tweeted.
Experts also understand the changing dynamics in Afghanistan vis-à-vis the Taliban gaining ground and Iran's role in the region.
Iran has considerable influence on the regional Taliban leaders.
In other words, when the US is in an intense confrontation with Iran, Pakistan too cannot deliver much.
There is no doubt that Afghanistan, in today's context, offers a complex challenge to all global and regional powers, and India-Iran, sharing respective perspectives, have their own importance.
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