Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has held a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.
The meeting, as part of a three-leg European tour, was held on Tuesday. The two sides brought about common spiritual values during the 40-minute meeting.
The pontiff and Rouhani highlighted the good state of relations between the Holy See and Iran.
Pope Francis called on Iran and other regional countries to find political solutions to ongoing problems in the Middle East.
They underscored the importance of interreligious dialogue and the responsibility of religious communities in promoting tolerance, peace and reconciliation.
They emphasized that divine religions must shun violence and extremism and promote peace. The two sides urged the 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.
The Iranian president also presented the pontiff with a book of illustrations by renowned Iranian painter Mahmoud Farshchian along with a handwoven Persian carpet.
The visit comes on the second day of President Rouhani’s trip which has already taken him to the Italian capital Rome.
The Iranian president arrived in the Italian capital 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.
During his stay in Rome, the Iranian president addressed an Iran-Italy business forum and held talks with his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi .
On Monday night, the Iranian and Italian officials signed multi-billion dollar contracts covering various sectors including agriculture and energy, health and transportation. Up to USD 18.4 billion worth contracts were signed in a ceremony attended by President Rouhani and the Italian prime minister in Rome.
On Wednesday, the Iranian president will set off for Paris to hold talks with senior French officials.
It is worth to mention that Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, had held several meetings with Christian leaders.
Imam Khomeini had also urged them to stand by the Iranian nation and oppressed nations of the world against discriminations and aggressions.
Imam wanted all religious schools of thought to take unified stance against aggressive powers.
Imam’s academic legacy is equally becoming increasingly popular among all followers of Divine faiths including the Muslims, Christians and Jews.
In addition to that, Imam Khomeini had been also a staunch supporter of the minorities and issued special recommendations about observing their rights.