President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, left Tehran for Bamako, Mali, to review issues of mutual interest with senior officials of that African state, IRNA reported.
President Ahmadinejad is to proceed to Nigeria at the end of his one-day visit to Mali to attend and deliver a speech at the eight developing nations summit (D-8) in that West African country.
Nigeria has recently assumed the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council.
Heads of state, central bank governors and ministers from eight developing nations including the Islamic Republic of Iran, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Turkey will meet in Nigeria's summit.
The D-8 participant delegates will focus on expansion of cooperation in the areas of transportation, tourism, energy, banking, investment, and technology as well as establishment of joint economic organizations.