Eurasia Press & News
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that his country is scheduled to construct oil reserve tanks in Comoros in order to have ready stockpiles for customers. Speaking to reporters during a joint press conference with his Comorian counterpart here in Tehran on Wednesday, Mottaki said the two-day visit to Tehran by Ahmed Ben Sa’id Jaffar is aimed at studying the two countries’ ties and exploring avenues for the expansion of cooperation.
He further pointed out that his talks with the Comorian foreign minister, which focused on the two countries’ cooperation grounds, followed a recent meeting between the Iranian and Comorian presidents on the sidelines of the recent African Union (AU) summit in Gambia, where Iranian president Ahmadinejad and Ahmad Adbullah Sambi stressed development and deepening of the two states’ relations.
According to Mottaki, Iran’s participation in the implementation of some national projects in Comoros in such areas as construction of roads, transportation and certain agricultural projects, comprised the two sides’ overall agreements in today’s meeting.
He said that the Islamic Republic has placed Comoros in the list of countries receiving developmental aids from Iran, adding that he and his Comorian counterpart have agreed on the transfer of Iran’s engineering and technical experiences to Comoros in different scientific grounds.
The top diplomat also said that Jaffar is due to submit a written message from his president to president Ahmadinejad.
Elsewhere, he noted the strategic position of Comoros in east Africa, and said, “During our talks with the Venezuelan officials, we raised a plan for establishing a center on Comoros coasts to reserve oil for potential customers, considering that Comoros is located on a sea transportation route.”
“In case this project is put into effect, we will enjoy the possibility for reserving oil in east Africa, in addition to our oil reserves in Singapore, the Netherlands and China,” the minister continued.
He said that the project would be beneficial to both sides, adding, “Once this project is implemented, Comoros, which is in need of foreign investment, and Iran and Venezuela, as two major suppliers of oil, will find an opportunity to experience a good move in the arena of international economic cooperation.”
Elsewhere, in response to a question about Baghdad security talks, Mottaki said that his deputy for legal and international affairs Araghchi will attend the upcoming meeting.
He also said that the Iranian delegation would attempt to identify ways to assist Iraqi government in establishing security through cooperation with other delegations, specially those from Iraq’s neighboring states.
He further expressed the hope that the required ground would be paved for the withdrawal of the foreign troops from Iraq.
Asked about the trend of activities and construction of Iran’s first nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr, the Iranian foreign minister said that Tehran is paying specified amounts to the Russian side even in advance of the maturity dates agreed by the two sides, and concluded, “There resides no financial problem between Iran and Russia.”
