Iran, Tajikistan stress expansion of bilateral relations

Iranian Vice-President for Parliamentary Affairs Lotfollah Forouzandeh and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon conferred on the latest developments in the bilateral relations, and discussed the latest regional and international issues, Fars reported.

During the meeting in the Tajik capital city of Dushanbe, Forouzandeh submitted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's invitation to Emomali Rahmon to attend the forthcoming summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran this summer.

The 16th NAM summit will be held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, from August 26 to 31, when Iran will assume the rotating presidency of the movement for three years.

NAM is comprised of some 120 member states and 17 observer countries.

The Iranian official, pointed to the significance of NAM in the international community, and stated, "The NAM summit will provide an opportunity for the heads of Non-Aligned states to exchange views on common issues and reach desirable agreement."

As regards the bilateral ties, Forouzandeh stressed Iran and Tajikistan's important standing on the international scene, and underlined that the two countries are necessitated to promote their mutual cooperation in a bid to further promote their international position.

Iran's President Ahmadinejad in a meeting with Rahmon in Dushanbe in March reiterated that Iran's foreign policy has no restriction for bolstering cooperation with Tajikistan.