Iran ready to exchange experiences with Kenya: Official

The head of the Iranian delegation to the 114th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting, Mohsen Yahyavi, Friday evening in Nairobi voiced Iran's readiness to exchange experiences in the fields of industry, energy, agriculture and transportation with Kenya.

He was remarking at a meeting with Kenyan Minister of Transport Chirau Ali Mwakwere on the sidelines of the IPU meeting. As to Iran's peaceful nuclear activities, he reiterated that the Islamic Republic of Iran had never pursued nuclear weapons. Tehran wants nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes, he added. Peaceful use of nuclear energy is the indisputable right of any country based on rules and regulations of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), he said, adding that powerful countries do not wish to see developing states progress.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to defend its legal right and will not abandon its nuclear programs, he further stated. For his part, the Kenyan minister praised the efforts of Iranian scientists to gain access to peaceful nuclear energy and stressed that despite hindrances created by certain countries, Iran's achievements in various fields are significant and surprising. He called on his country's officials to follow Iran which, he described as a "good model" for development in different areas. He reiterated that Nairobi supports Iran's peaceful nuclear activities.

Mwakwere stressed the need to utilize Iran's valuable experiences in the areas of energy and transportation. The 114th IPU session wrapped up its five-day work in Nairobi, Kenya, on Friday.

The Iranian parliamentary delegation was headed by the secretary- general of Iran's Inter-Parliamentary Group, Mohsen Yahyavi. On the sidelines of the 114th IPU session, the Iranian delegation held separate meetings with the heads of delegations from Japan, Germany, China, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Libya, Britain, Russia, South Africa, Denmark, Congo, Qatar, Ghana, Tanzania and the parliament speaker, vice-president and head of the energy commission, transportation, and foreign minister of Kenya. During the meetings, the sides discussed Iran's stand in the current nuclear standoff with the West and avenues for bolstering ties.

IRNA Saturday May 13, 2006
Iran
The Journal of Turkish Weekly