Amid the tense situation in West Asia, Iran’s Ambassador to India Iraj Elahi has said that tensions between his country and Israel are “nothing new”. He assured Indians and other tourists that “Iran is safe” to visit and urged them to visit the historic land of Persia.
In an interview with PTI during the Iran Tourism roadshow in Delhi, the ambassador also expressed hope that more direct flights could be initiated between the two countries, as well as flights by Indian airlines between various cities in India and Iran.
Currently, there are two direct flights between Tehran and Delhi and one flight between the Iranian capital and Mumbai, he said on Friday.
Asked if the current tense situation in West Asia, including Iran-Israel hostility, has impacted tourist flow to the country, Elahi said there has been no change in the situation, “but Indians and other tourists do not have any security problems in Iran.”
“The tension between Iran and Israel is nothing new, there has been tension between the two countries for a long time. So, this is nothing new that will have an impact on the situation in Iran… I reassure Indian tourists and Indian friends and invite them to come and visit Iran.”
“They should see for themselves how safe Iran is. And, it is beautiful and attractive,” Elahi told PTI Videos.
He stressed that in its journey as a nation, Iran has overcome “imposed” wars and sanctions.
When asked about the state of India-Iran relations in the changing global scenario, the ambassador said, “Bilateral relations with India are not only good, but also excellent.” The demise of then Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi was observed by both India and Indian officials, and the condolences expressed are recorded in “Iran’s national memory”. He said it is incredible for Iran, and about the relations, “The Supreme Leader of Iran respects India, and I as Iran’s ambassador also fully feel the respect of PM Modi and the Indian government.”
The Indian government had announced a one-day national mourning on May 21 in honour of Raisi, who died tragically in a helicopter crash.
Ilahi said the two countries have good understanding of each other at the strategic level, but there are “some difficulties” at the operational level.
“We have good relations with various structures in India, we need some mechanism to resolve these difficulties. Strategically we see the will on both sides. There is no problem between the two countries,” he said.
“It is important. It is a strategic asset for both countries. We have been together, we are together now, and we are working to stay together in the future,” the ambassador said.
India and Persia (as Iran is historically known) are two ancient civilisations and have had centuries-old relations in trade, culture and other fields.
He said, “Iran and India have long-standing relations and one aspect of our relationship has been people-to-people relations and interactions. Unfortunately, Covid affected this relationship. We organised this roadshow to re-energise and revive the good tourism cooperation between the two countries.”
“We believe that India needs to know more about the current situation in Iran and its development, and that Iranians also need to know more about India and its potential for development and cooperation,” the Ambassador said.
The event brought together various tourism stakeholders – travel agencies, airlines companies and officials from both countries.
“They have had the opportunity to discuss various ways of promoting tourism between the two countries. We have recently addressed or resolved some of the concerns that Indians had, and we have also sorted out the visa issue,” he said.
He said, “Indians can enter Iran for two weeks without any visa, Indian passport holders are exempted from visa.”
“Moreover, their passports will not be stamped when they enter or leave Iran. So, they do not have to worry about travelling or going to other countries. This is an important issue,” Elahi said.
Another important issue is that the number of flights should be increased. Right now there are two direct flights between Delhi and Tehran, which take about three and a half hours. Another flight between Tehran and Mumbai is less than four hours. “But, we are planning to increase the number of flights.” “We have asked and approached Indian airlines and are trying to explain the potential of Iran’s large market for Indian airlines. So, Indian carriers are welcome to set up direct flights not only from Delhi or Mumbai, but Hyderabad and Bangalore are also good markets, and even Kashmir is good. Various cities of both countries can be connected by direct flights, we welcome it and we hope that Indian carriers can set up direct flights,” he said.
When asked how much they are expecting to increase the frequency of direct flights, the envoy said, “We are expecting at least one flight per day, seven days a week.” Elahi said the event is just the beginning of a long-term aim of cooperation and Iran hopes that after the event, tourism between the two countries will be boosted and there will be progress on both sides.
He said, “We are not only focusing on attracting Indian tourists, but we are also focusing on attracting Iranian tourists to India… According to the latest data, more than 13 million Iranians travelled abroad last year, but the share of those visiting India is around 58,000.”
“It is nothing, very little. On the other hand, the number of Indian tourists visiting Iran is very large. So, they can benefit from tourism cooperation. And, we hope this is a good step,” he said.
Moreover, Indians can not only buy good souvenirs from Iran but they can also do business with Iran during their visit to Iran, the Ambassador said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
