Iranian media reports say Iran’s President of Iran Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi started a tour of Central Asia on Wednesday that is taking him to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

IRNA says the Iranian president visited Dushanbe on November 8 at the invitation of his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon.

Tasnim news agency says that during his stay in Tajikistan, Raisi, heading a high-ranking political and economic delegation, is going to sign a number of bilateral agreements.

On November 9, the Iranian president will travel to Uzbekistan to take part in the 16th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Tashkent.

Speaking to reporters before leaving Tehran, Raisi reportedly said the promotion of close relations with neighboring, Muslim and like-minded countries, such as the Central Asian nations, constitutes a pillar of his administration’s foreign policy.

Commenting on the plans for the visit to Dushanbe and his speech at the upcoming ECO summit and the meetings on the sidelines of the event in Tashkent, Raisi said, “The most important subject I need to raise in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be the issue of Gaza.”