Majlis Speaker Calls For Enhanced Iran-Cuba Ties

Tehran, Aug 4, IRNA – Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani on Saturday called for expansion of relations between Iran and Cuba, particularly in parliamentary area. He made the remarks in a meeting with Cuban Vice President of the Council of Ministers, Ricardo Cabrisas who arrived in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iranian president-elect Hassan Rohani slated for August 4. During the meeting, Larijani expressed pleasure with growing friendly ties between the two countries, underlining the role of parliamentary friendship groups in promoting bilateral relations. He termed Cuban Vice Presidents presence in Rohani's inauguration ceremony as an indication of deeply-rooted ties between Tehran and Havana. Referring to close views of the two countries on various international issues, he called for further resistance against hegemony of world powers. The Cuban vice president, for his part, lauded good cooperation between the two countries in different fields, urging both countries to cement bilateral ties through joint efforts. Iranian president-elect Hassan Rohani will take the oath of office in Iran's parliament on Sunday. Rohani succeeds Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose two legally allowed consecutive terms end on Saturday. Rohani won over half of the votes in Iran's June 14 election, which was marked by a 72.7 percent turnout, to secure an outright victory. Eleven presidents, two prime ministers and seven parliament speakers are to participate in Rohani’s inauguration. The presidents of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Armenia, North Korea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Sudan, Sri Lanka and Togo as well as the prime ministers of Syria and Swaziland will attend the event. The parliament speakers of Russia, Venezuela, Algeria, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the foreign ministers of South Africa, India, Brazil, Turkey, Mauritania, Sri Lanka, Burundi and Palestine are to attend Rohani’s swearing-in as well. The vice-presidents of Nicaragua, Tanzania, Cuba and Ghana, and former European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, are also among the attendees./end