During a meeting with Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou in Niamey , Iran's Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare Abdolreza Sheikholeslami said that latest regional and international developments, particularly those in North Africa, require the expansion of ties between Iran and friendly states like Niger.
The Iranian minister also extended President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s invitation to the Nigerien leader to take part in the forthcoming NAM summit in Tehran.
Issoufou, for his part, described Iran and Niger as two major Muslim states, stressing that religious commonalities between the two countries have helped further promote Niamey-Tehran relations. Niger is ready to bolster ties with Iran in all areas, the Nigerien president stated
The 16th summit of the NAM member states will be held between August 26 and 31 in the Iranian capital.
Iran will assume the rotating presidency of the movement for three years during the Tehran summit.
NAM, an international organization with 120 member states and 17 observer countries, is considered as not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.
The organization was founded in the former Yugoslavia in 1961. The countries of the Non-Aligned Movement represent nearly two-thirds of the UN members and contain 55% of the world population.
NAM's purpose, as stated in the Havana Declaration of 1979, is to ensure "the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries.”
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A senior Iranian official says there are no obstacles in the way of stronger relations between the Islamic Republic and African countries, particularly the Republic of Niger.
News ID 182008
