CICA meeting important for global peace: Iranian president

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (C) inspects the honour guards before leaving for China at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, Iran, on May 20, 2014. Rouhani left Tehran for Shanghai on Tuesday morning to attend the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit, to be held in Shanghai on May 20-21. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz)

The upcoming Asian security summit is important for Iran due to the meeting's "significant" role in working toward world peace, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in Tehran on Tuesday.

The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) "is of importance for Iran because of the increasingly significant role of continental and regional meetings in global peace and their impact on interaction between the countries," Rouhani said.

He is scheduled to attend the four CICA summit, which opens in the Chinese city of Shanghai on Tuesday, and meet a number of foreign leaders on the sidelines.

Rouhani also placed importance on the country's relations with China. Speaking ahead of his trip to Shanghai for the two-day meeting, he said, "Iran-China relations are important for Iran, since over the past years Iran has increased its economic ties with Asian countries, including China."

Iran's cooperation with China in energy, industry and technological sectors is "good" and should be enhanced, he added.