Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Tuesday received at Zabeel Palace Dr Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister.

Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, was present.

Shaikh Mohammad received from Zarif an official invitation from Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran, to visit Tehran, which Shaikh Mohammad accepted.

During the meeting, Shaikh Mohammad and Zarif discussed bilateral relations, the current situation in the region, and ways to bolster peace and stability for both their peoples and the world.

Present during the meeting were Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Federal National Council Affairs, Reem Ebrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State, Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, Saif Mohammad Al Za’abi, UAE Ambassador to Iran, and Mohammad Reza Fayyad, Iran’s Ambassador to the UAE.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Higher UAE-Iranian Joint Committee held its second meeting. The meeting was chaired by Khalid Al Gaith, UAE Assistant Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs, and Dr Hussain Amir Abdollahian. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab-African Affairs.

The committee discussed the scope of cooperation between the two countries and ways to promote it in areas such as consular relations, trade, investment, energy, telecommunications, youth and sports, higher education, scientific and media research, ports, environment and health care.

In his remarks at the meeting, Al Gaith emphasised that relations between UAE and Iran witness constant cooperation and development in different areas.

He noted that the current meeting seeks to further promote these relations in order to realise the common interests of the two countries.

He conveyed to the committee members the greetings of Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister.

Al Gaith also praised the achievements of the previous higher joint committee, which contributed to the signing of an MoU on the establishment of joint bilateral cooperation in 2009, among other agreements, which expanded the scope of cooperation between the two countries.

For his part, Abdollahian stressed the importance of promoting bilateral relations, noting that high-level visits are proof of the good relations between the two countries.

The Iranian official added that this period sees the highest levels of cooperation between the two countries in various spheres.

Trade between UAE and Iran reached Dh31 billion in the first nine months of 2012. Thirty-one weekly flights are operated by national carriers between Iran and UAE, boosting tourism and serving businesses