The July Asian Ambassador's Luncheon was held in the residence of Chinese ambassador on July 27th. As the host of the luncheon, the Chinese Ambassador in Tehran, Mr. Liu Zhentang hosted the luncheon and delivered the opening speech. Ambassadors from 12 Asian countries including Bangladesh, Brunei, DPRK, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, ROK, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam attended the luncheon at the invitation. As a special guest, Director General of the East Asia and Pacific Region of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Mr. Gholam Reza Ansari also attended the luncheon. This is also the first time for him to attend the Asian Ambassador's Luncheon.

    In his opening speech, Mr. Liu Zhentang firstly expressed his warmest welcome to all guests, especially Mr. Ansari. He said that just after his appointment to post, Mr. Ansari paid a visit to 3 far east countries including China, Japan and DPRK, which fully showed his attachment of great importance to this region. Following this, Mr. Ansari delivered a speech concering Asia's important role. He remarked that Asia is playing decisive role in the world's pattern not only in the traditional fields such as politics, economy, trade and culture, but also in the new-arising fields such as energy and anti-terrorism. Both the government and the people of Iran think it important to develop relations with Asian countries, and hope to further enhance the relations in the future.

    The Asian Ambassador Luncheon is an informal, self-organized meeting among the ambassadors from Asian countries to Tehran, normally held once per month. Attendants to this luncheon can enjoy dishes while share views over topics of common interest. The luncheon serves as a positive supplement to formal bilateral diplomatic activities.