DHAKA,  – State Minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam on Thursday attended the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected Iranian President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi in Teheran on behalf of Bangladesh.

Alam, who was leading a three-member Bangladesh delegation to Iran, also paid a courtesy call on the new Iranian president on Friday, a foreign ministry press release said here.

During the meeting, Raisi expressed his gratitude to Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for congratulating him on his election as president.

He appreciated the robust economic development of Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

While thanking Bangladesh for supporting Iran in international fora, Raisi mentioned that Palestine question is the first and foremost issue of the Muslim Ummah.

The Iranian president also highly appreciated Bangladesh for hosting more than one million Rohingyas who were forcefully displaced from their homeland in Myanmar.

Recalling his visit to Bangladesh 20 years back, Raisi expressed his desire to visit Dhaka in near future and stated his keen interest to work closely with Bangladesh for realizing mutual benefits of the two countries.

Later, Alam made a courtesy call on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

During the call, the two ministers laid emphasis on further strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Alam stressed on increasing connectivity and private sector cooperation in trade and investment between the two countries.