(IRNA) - Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and his Malian counterpart Mokhtar Ouan in a meeting here Wednesday discussed ways of strengthening bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues.
According to a report released by the Foreign Ministry Media Department, Ouan said that his country highly respects Iran's culture and civilization, reports Trend.
He added that in his meeting with Iranian minister of agriculture, good results were obtained on expansion of cooperation in the sector and implementation of joint irrigation projects.
The Malian minister expressed the interest of African countries in bolstering ties with Iran, adding that Iran has a special status in Africa.
He added that Iran's various potentials paves the way for Africa to benefit from its technical and engineering services, products as well as facilities and expertise in dam-building and development plans.
Ouan expressed his country's support for Iran's peaceful nuclear program and the legitimate right of the Iranian nation to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
He hoped that the remaining problems on the issue will be solved through negotiation based on mutual confidence.
The minister appreciated Iran's constructive attempts in Lebanon and Palestine and said that its role in Lebanon is quite obvious and significant.
Thanking Iran for the humanitarian efforts in establishing cease-fire in Lebanon, he called for the greater involvement of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) member states in Lebanon and Palestine.
For his part, Mottaki referred to the country's strategic relations with Mali and African states and said that Iran entered into close ties with Africa after the Islamic Revolution. He called for further strengthening such relations.
He declared Iran's readiness to participate in Mali's dam-building projects and share its technical and engineering know-how as well as high-quality products.
Turning to the achievements of Lebanese Islamic resistance in confronting the Zionist regime's aggressions on Lebanon, he said that such a success led to new developments and values in facing the occupiers.
"During the aggression of Zionist regime on Lebanon, the will of Lebanon's resistance was manifested. Meanwhile, the unjust and unilateral approach of the US and Israel were revealed.
"The popularity of Hizbollah Chief Seyed Hassan Nasrullah shows the depth and extent of the will of Islamic, Arab and freedom-loving states," he added.
The minister pointed to the country's stance on its peaceful nuclear program and said that the recent resolution issued by the UN Security Council is unacceptable, illegal and politically-motivated.
He underlined that Iran is ready to access peaceful nuclear technology within its legal rights under the NPT framework and hold talks on the issue to achieve proper solutions.
At the end of meeting, the two ministers signed an agreement on development cooperation to facilitate collaboration in technical and engineering fields and participation of Iranian enterprises in projects in Mali.