Iranian President & Pope Francis Meet At Vatican
KABUL: (MEP) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani leading a high ranking delegation warmly welcomed by Pope Francis at a meeting held between the two sides at the Vatican.
The meeting which was held behind closed doors on Tuesday on the second day of Rouhani’s trip which has already taken him to the Italian capital Rome, focused on human rights and Iran’s role in Middle East conflicts.
The meeting between the Pope and President Rouhani is the first of its kind since 1999 when Pope St. John Paul II met the then Iranian President Mohammad Khatami at the Vatican.
Most of Mr. Rouhani’s visit, including meetings with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and French President François Hollande, is focused on jump-starting Iran’s economic relations with Europe.
But the meeting with Pope Francis is particularly significant because of the close ties the Vatican and Iran have enjoyed for decades and Iran’s desire to project an image of a tolerant country in a region beset by strife.
The two sides spoke about common spiritual values and emphasized the good state of relations between the Holy See and Iran during the 40-minute meeting.
They also discussed measures to be undertaken by the nuncio for promoting the dignity of human being and religious freedom in Iran.
The pair — one a Muslim cleric, the other the world’s most recognized Christian leader — had planned to sit down in November, according to official Iranian and Vatican news outlets. But Rouhani postponed that meeting, and his entire trip to Europe, following that month’s coordinated terrorist massacre in Paris.
They entered Tuesday’s talks with high expectations at a time when Iran’s role in global affairs has evolved considerably.
According to Iran’s presidential office, Rouhani and the Pope said divine religions promote peace and shun violence and extremism. They called on world nations to make comprehensive efforts to establish global peace.
The two sides urged countries and international organizations to help ease human suffering and swiftly stop war and clashes.
At the end of his meeting with Pope Francis, Mr. Rouhani asked the pontiff to pray for him. In turn, the pope said he “hope(d) for peace.”
Rouhani arrived in Rome on Monday at the head of a delegation of more than 100 businessmen and ministers on the first leg of his trip to three European destinations after Iran and the P5+1 group of countries started on January 16 to implement a nuclear agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), they reached in Vienna last July.
