On Wednesday, Dietrich Heim toured the headquarters of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) in Tehran, and held talks with its Managing Director Ali Naderi.
The Austrian envoy said that IRNA, as the official news agency of Iran, is a reliable news source and plays an important and influential role in covering developments.
He also said that media outlets definitely play a role in creating and enhancing friendly ties between countries.
Considering that, he added, IRNA can greatly contribute to the deepening of relations between Tehran and Vienna.
Dietrich Heim came to Iran as the Australian ambassador nearly a year ago.
He praised the thousands-years-old Iranian civilization and said that he has so far travelled to provinces of Yazd, Fars and Khuzestan and is interested to get more familiar with Iran and its people.
IRNA Managing Director Naderi, for his part, said that Tehran-Vienna ties have a history of 500 years and have expanded further after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
He noted that relations with Vienna have a special position for the administration of President Ebrahim Raisi, and added that the Austrian president was the first European leader who congratulated President Raisi on his victory in the 2021 Iranian presidential election.
The IRNA managing director also announced his agency’s readiness to broaden cooperation with Austria’s National News Agency, the Austria Press Agency (APA).
Naderi expressed hope that the cooperation between the two news agencies would pave ground for the further development of economic, cultural and scientific relations between the two countries.
He provided figures on the extent of IRNA's activities inside and outside Iran and explained that one of the new strategies adopted by the news agency is to play a more active role in the region and beyond.
Naderi and Dietrich Heim also spoke about other issues, including the Ukraine war and Iran’s nuclear negotiations that have been hosted by the Austrian capital since April last year.
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