TEHRAN — Slovak Deputy Foreign Minister Ingrid Brockova, who was visiting Tehran, held talks with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mahdi Safari on Monday.According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the two diplomats exchanged viewpoints on how to expand economic cooperation between the two countries.Safari touched on Iran’s potential in the fields of energy, petrochemicals, pharmaceutical and food industries as well as new and knowledge-based technologies, expressing readiness for cooperation with the Slovak side.The deputy foreign minister for economic diplomacy said pharmaceutical and medical industries, including production of coronavirus vaccines, are another area where the two sides can cooperate.For her part, Brockova expressed pleasure over her visit to Iran, expressing hope that holding a joint economic commission session will mark a major step in expansion of trade cooperation between the two countries.Brockova also met on Monday with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani. During the meeting, Bagheri Kani touched on the recent global food crisis that has made food security a priority for many countries more than ever before.Therefore, he suggested, efforts should be made to address global concerns about food security and energy security, which he described as two strategic pillars of national security for each country.He said that concerns about food and energy security should be used as an opportunity for interaction, cooperation and even solidarity among countries to secure a clear vision for the future.Even before the Ukraine war, the world was grappling with a difficult food shortage driven by a combination of crises such as the Covid-19 outbreak and man-made climate change, as well as growing expenses that have broken the backs of low-income people in poor countries.“The war in Ukraine — a major ‘breadbasket’ for the world — is deepening these challenges on an unprecedented scale.

In the immediate, swift and bold action is required by both wealthy and low-income nations to avert further humanitarian and economic catastrophe,” United States Institute of Peace wrote on Monday.