Dr. Abdolnaser Hemmati, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance made the comments in an interview with Arab News in AlUla, Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Hemmati traveled to Saudi Arabia to attend the annual conference on challenges and opportunities for emerging economies.

In the interview, he stressed the need to expand trade and economic relations between countries to stabilize political relations.

The AlUla conference is co-organized by the Saudi Ministry of Finance and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).In a joint statement issued on November 24, Saudi Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva highlighted that the conference serves as a platform for exchanging insights on economic developments and discussing policies and reforms aimed at promoting prosperity through international cooperation.Minister Hemmati is also conducting bilateral talks with officials from other regional countries to strengthen economic collaboration and develop cooperative strategies.

Hemmati noted that all countries in the region had emphasized the expansion and development of their economic relations with Iran, adding that this was the main theme of the AlUla conference.