Amid the tense situation in West Asia, Iranian Ambassador to India Iraj Elahi has said the tension between his country and Israel is "not new". He assured Indians and other tourists that "Iran is safe" to travel and urged them to explore the historic land of Persia.
In an interview with PTI on the sidelines of the Iran Tourism Roadshow in Delhi, the envoy also expressed the hope that more direct flights can be set up between the two countries, as well as by Indian carriers from between different cities of India and Iran.
Currently, there are two direct flights between Tehran and Delhi and one between the Iranian capital and Mumbai, he said on Friday.
Asked if the current tense situation in West Asia including the Iran-Israel hostility has cast a shadow on the flow of tourists in the country, Elahi said the situation has not changed, "but Indians and other tourists do not have any security problems" in Iran.
"The tension between Iran and Israel is not new, there have been tensions for a long time. So, it is not something new that will affect the situation in Iran... I assure Indian tourists, and Indian friends and invite them to come to Iran, and visit Iran.
"They should see by themselves how much safer Iran is. And, it is beautiful and attractive," Elahi told PTI Videos.
He emphasised that Iran has passed "imposed" wars and sanctions, in its journey as a nation.
Asked about the status of India-Iran ties in the face of changing global dynamics, the envoy said, "The bilateral ties with India are not only good but fantastic." India and authorities in India observed a day-long mourning when the then-Iranian president Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi died, and condolences expressed are registered in the "national memory of Iran". It is something unbelievable for Iran, and regarding the relations, "the supreme leader of Iran respects India, and I as an ambassador of Iran also fully feel the respect of PM Modi and the government of India," he added.
The government of India had declared one-day national mourning on May 21 as a mark of respect to Raisi who had tragically passed away in a helicopter crash.
Elahi said at the strategic level, both countries have a good mindset about each other, and at the operative level, there are "some difficulties".
"We are in good relation with different structures of India to resolve these difficulties, we need some mechanism. Strategically, we see a willingness on both sides. We do not have any problems between the two countries.
"It is important. It is a strategic asset for both the countries. We have been together, we are now together, and we are now working to be in the future," the ambassador said.
India and Persia, as Iran is historically known, are two ancient civilisations and have had ties in trade, culture and other sectors, going back several centuries.
"Iran and India have a long-standing relation, and one aspect of our relation has been people-to-people relations and interactions. Unfortunately, Covid affected this relation. We organised this roadshow to reactivate and revive the good tourism cooperation between the two countries," he said.
"We believe that India needs to know more about the current Iran and development of Iran, as also Iranians also need to know more about India and the development of India, and the capabilities of the cooperation," the envoy added.
The event saw a gathering of different stakeholders of tourism -- travel agencies, airliners and officials from both countries.
"They have the opportunity to discuss different ways to promote tourism between the two countries. We recently have removed or resolved some concerns of Indians, and we have resolved the visa issue.
"Indians can enter Iran for two weeks without any visa, Indian passport holders are exempted from visa.
"Also, when they enter or depart Iran, their passport will not be stamped. So, they do not have concerns regarding travelling or visiting other countries. This is an important issue," Elahi said.
Another important issue is that the number of flights should be increased. 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 about less than four hours. "But, we plan to increase the number of flights." "We have asked and approached Indian airlines and trying to explain the capacity of the big market of Iran for Indian airlines. So, Indian carriers can be welcomed to set up direct flight not only from Delhi or Mumbai, but also Hyderabad, and Bangalore, are good markets, and even Kashmir is good. Different cities of the two countries can be connected with direct flights, we welcome and we hope that Indian carriers can set up direct flights," he said.
Asked what is the increased frequency of direct flights he is expecting, the envoy said, "We are expecting at least one flight per day, seven-day-a-week flights." Elahi said this event is just the beginning in the long-drawn aim of cooperation and Iran hopes that after this event will witness promotion and progress in tourism between the two countries, on both sides.
"We are insisting not just to attract Indian tourists, we are also insisting to attract Iranian tourists to India... According to the latest statistics, in the last year, more than 13 million Iranians have travelled abroad, but the portion that went to India is just about 58,000.
"It is nothing, very low (in number). On the other hand, the number of Indian tourists going to Iran, the figure is huge. So, they can benefit from tourism cooperation. And, we hope that it is a good step," he added.
Besides, Indians can not only buy good souvenirs from Iran but they can also do business with Iran during their visit to Iran, the envoy said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
