Presidents of Iran and Benin call for close ties

TEHRAN,April 16(MNA) – The presidents of Iran and Benin have called for an expansion of ties between the two countries in all areas. On his first stop in Benin on a three-nation West African tour, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the expansion of ties with African countries is high on the country’s agenda. During a meeting with Beninese President Yayi Boni on Sunday, Ahmadinejad said that Iran and Benin have great potential in various political, economic, and cultural areas to develop cooperation. He also said that the African continent is rich in resources, adding that the Islamic Republic will stand by African people to help them progress. Ahmadinejad, who currently chairs the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), added NAM members are expected to cooperate closely in order to boost the status of the organization in promoting peace and justice in the world. The Beninese president, for his part, expressed delight over President Ahmadinejad’s visit to Africa, saying that African people trust the Islamic Republic and are seeking to bolster their relations with it. He also praised Iran as an influential power that can significantly change the biased power structure in the world. He added that Benin, as chairman of the Least Developed Countries Coordination Bureau, can use the grounds to bolster its ties with Tehran. Ahmadinejad is scheduled to visit two other African countries of Niger and Ghana as well. Before leaving Tehran, Ahmadinejad had told reporters that he had been officially invited to visit the three countries, adding that during his visits a number of memorandums of understanding would be signed to enhance bilateral cooperation in economic, energy, tourism, and health care sectors. Ahmadinejad added that he would meet African officials and intellectuals during his stay in the black continent. Divine gift In a speech at a Benin university on Monday, Ahmadinejad said Iran’s nuclear activities are peaceful and insisted that nuclear bomb has no place in Iran’s defense strategy. Ahmadinejad called nuclear energy a “divine gift” providing affordable electricity. “They accuse Iran, like all nations that seek to rapidly find their way out of the current domination,” AFP quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. “We don't need an atomic bomb. ... And besides, it is not atomic bombs that threaten the world, but Western morals and culture declining in values.” International system favors rich Ahmadinejad went on to say that arrogant powers hold sway over trade, investment and financial resources and by dominating the world’s decision-making centers they impose their will on other nations. The world’s economic system has been designed in a way that it put the wealth of nations into the coffers of the rich countries, he noted.