Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – December 18, 1989

Prayer, exercise, listening to the news and doing things. Mr. [Masoudroghani] Zanjani came for the current affairs of the country and to consult on the Romanians' contracts. He is in charge of the negotiation group. I didn't make an appointment today because I was preparing to host [Mr. Nicolai Ceaușescu] the President of Romania.

I read the reports until noon. After lunch and prayer, we went to the airport at one o'clock in the afternoon to welcome the President of Romania; It was 1:40 p.m. An official reception was held. Resident ambassadors had come. We spoke briefly to the reporters and headed towards Saad Abad Palace. We sat in a car. An important matter was not raised on the way. I took Mr. Ceausescu to the residence and returned to my office.

At five in the afternoon, they came to the office to negotiate. Before the meeting, Dr. Velayati asked me to discuss the transaction of special goods at a high level. We had a private meeting at his request. He was just a translator. He asked how the relations with Turkey are and stressed the admiration of the relations with Turkey and Pakistan and claimed that Romania's relations with them are very good and can play a role in multilateral cooperation. Türkiye is under the influence of America and NATO and they don't let its relationship with us become close. We also discussed missile cooperation.

Then we went to the official meeting with the government members. This meeting lasted an hour. The talks were normal and around the fields of economic cooperation.

At eight o'clock in the evening, I went to the Foreign Ministry Club to participate in the dinner that I hosted in their honor. He and I read a speech at the dinner table; The content was ordinary and repetitive. While eating dinner, I asked many questions about the social and economic situation in Romania, which gave clear answers. He knows the statistics of his country well. They went to the residence and I came home. They were Fati, Mehdi and Yasir.