The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has noted that if unity and cooperation seriously existed among independent and Muslim states, they would not have witnessed the ongoing crises in Bahrain and Syria.

Emphasizing that the only way to confront the global policies of bullying powers is close collaboration among independent and Muslim states, the Leader underlined in a Friday meeting with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that “in case such unity and cooperation existed in a serious manner, we would not have been witness to the unfortunate developments that are currently underway in Syria and Bahrain.”

Ayatollah Khamenei further pointed to the influential role of Bangladesh as a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), as well as the D8 Group, adding that cooperation among Islamic countries will be certainly in line with the interests of the Muslim nations and further increase their power.

The Leader also pointed to historical and cultural commonalities between Iran and Bangladesh and noted that profound cultural ties provide a very good ground for the promotion of political, international, economic and social cooperation between Tehran and Dhaka.

For her part, the Bangladeshi prime minister, who is leading her country’s high-ranking delegation in the 16th NAM Summit in Tehran, concurred with Ayatollah Khamenei by stressing the need for Islamic and independent countries to mobilize their resources and capacities and prevent global powers to make decisions for other nations.

Hasina further expressed her country’s desire for the expansion of ties with the Islamic Republic in various fields, particularly in economic and trade sectors