Iran, Kuwait call for expansion of ties

TEHRAN,June 11(MNA) – Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and Ahmed Al-Mulaifi, a member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, called for increased relations between the two countries during a meeting in Tehran late on Sunday. During the meeting, which was also attended by a number of other members of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, Salehi described political ties between Iran and Kuwait as good, saying that officials of both countries are determined to increase the volume of bilateral trade. The parliaments of Iran and Kuwait, as symbols of democracy, have an important role to play in strengthening relations, Salehi said. He went on to say that Iran’s principled policy is to maintain peace, security, and stability in the region with the aim of serving the interests of the people of regional countries. Also, Iran is keen to cement relations with all regional countries based on mutual respect and the principle of non-intervention, Salehi said. Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian foreign minister dismissed as “baseless” the commotion created by certain countries about the safety of the country’s sole nuclear power plant, located in the southwestern port city of Bushehr, calling it an attempt to undermine relations between Iran and Kuwait. “The concerns of certain countries about the safety of this plant are baseless,” he said, adding that the Bushehr plant meets the highest safety standards. Iran, Kuwait, enjoy ‘brotherly’ ties For his part, Mulaifi, who is the Kuwaiti chairman of the Iran-Kuwait parliamentary friendship group, said that the two countries enjoy a “brotherly” relationship and thanked Iran for the support it had provided to his country in different periods of history, particularly during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in 1990. He also said that efforts should be made to utilize the great potential of the two countries in various areas, including trade.