Mehmanparast said he agreed that the two countries cultivated good relations but regretted that, despite good political relations, trade was not as good, even though there was no reason for that and the capacity for economic cooperation was big.
He said that despite the embargo to which Iran had been subjected over the past 30 years, its growth in 2011 was 6.2 per cent and that this year's budget would be $500 billion.
Leko said those figures were impressive and that they showed the power of the Iranian economy, notably in light of the financial crisis, and that Croatia was following its success.
"We support the policy of Iran's economic growth and push for Iran's right to use atomic energy for peacetime purposes. In that sense, we support the continuation of negotiations so that this issue is solved peacefully, as envisaged by UN resolutions," said Leko, adding that Iran's power lay in the willingness to resume the negotiations, as that was the only way to solve all outstanding issues.
On that path, the Islamic Republic of Iran has the support, of the Republic of Croatia, he said.
The Iranian official said his country wanted to respect the rights of others in international relations but also wanted others to respect the rights of Iran, which he said was second in the world in gas resources and fourth in oil resources.
Mehmanparast invited Leko to visit Iran and expressed Iran's wish that Croatia attend, as an observer, a conference of Non-Aligned countries in Tehran in August.
The two officials also discussed the possibility of developing cooperation in tourism, the media, and air traffic, and highlighted the further strengthening of inter-parliamentary cooperation.
In conclusion, they said that the traditionally good political, parliamentary and cultural relations committed the two countries to continue cooperating.