Peace and security essential for realizing ECO goals: president
In a speech at the ninth ECO summit, Ahmadinejad said that ECO member states should not allow the political and military competitions of foreigners to cause instability in the region, to keep the region backwards, or to cause it to lose its natural resources.
“We share a common history and culture which can help deepen our ties,” he said.
“History has proven that relying on economic potential and our common cultural identity has always led to stability and convergence in the region.”
“As the people responsible for pursuing the demands of our nations, we are tasked with making political and economic decisions in line with our common historical and cultural identity,” he underlined.
Covering an area of 8 million square kilometers and with a population of more than 380 million people, ECO enjoys great power, which it can use to meet the interests of all member states, Ahmadinejad noted.
ECO covers one of the world’s most important energy centers and can become a successful international organization in view of the region’s huge natural and human resources, he added.
Ahmadinejad called on ECO members to focus on their common priorities and to establish a coordinated and powerful presence in the international arena.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the president said that constructive and purposeful cooperation among ECO member states is essential for improving their status in the regional and international arenas, in view of the fact that some bullying powers are making efforts to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.
Unfortunately, some bullying powers in the world practice injustice and lawlessness and ignore the rights of nations, he noted.
“International organizations have lost a great amount of their power under the influence of major powers. These organizations no longer support the rights of their member states and in some cases openly ask them to renounce their inalienable rights.
“A clear example of this case is the support given to the Zionist regime and the pressure exerted on the popular government elected by the Palestinian nation.”
The Iranian nation also faces such pressure, Ahmadinejad said. “However, despite all the problems and obstacles, Iran finally succeeded in developing the complete nuclear fuel cycle and becoming a member of the world’s nuclear club through the efforts of its young, creative, and faithful scientists.”
Iran seeks to continue its nuclear program in order to produce industrial levels of nuclear fuel for its power plants, the president stated.
He added that the Islamic Republic of Iran regards its great nuclear achievement as an achievement for all regional and Islamic countries.
“Iran’s scientific progress and national strength always serve to promote regional and global peace and are never directed against the interests of any nation.”
The baseless accusations leveled against Iran by the bullying powers will have no influence on the Iranian nation’s desire to tread on the path of progress and development, Ahmadinejad announced.
He noted that Iran seeks peace and calm in the entire world based on justice and has prioritized the development of extensive economic ties and the establishment of peace, security, and mutual understanding in the region and among its neighbors as part of its regional policy.
The president also stated that Iran is prepared to make use of all its potential to boost regional cooperation within the framework of ECO and to seriously participate in the organization’s plans and activities.
ECO is a ten-nation economic organization that groups Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, the Azerbaijan Republic, Afghanistan, Kazahkstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Ahmadinejad confers with ECO leaders
In a meeting with Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of the ECO summit on Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the international community would not tolerate the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the Anatolia news agency reported from Baku.
Asked what messages he conveyed to the Iranian leader, Erdogan said: "Turkey believes that no one can object to nuclear technology for peaceful, humanitarian aims.
"But of course, no country in the world will approve the proliferation of nuclear weapons,” he said as carried by AFP.
Turkish officials told Anatolia that Ahmadinejad insisted at the meeting that Tehran's nuclear program was peaceful, while Erdogan urged more transparency.
Erdogan reiterated that the mounting dispute between Iran and the West should be resolved through diplomatic means, Anatolia said.
In another meeting with his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, President Ahmadinejad said that the two countries’ national resolve to develop cooperation would neutralize the conspiracy of the enemy to sabotage Tehran-Baku relations, IRNA reported.
Ahmadinejad said that Iran is prepared to help the Azerbaijan Republic export its oil and gas through the Persian Gulf.
The two countries will make optimum use of their potentials to serve bilateral interests, the Iranian president added.
He noted that the geographical situation of Iran and Azerbaijan provide them with the best opportunity to develop cooperation and the two countries have close positions on issues concerning the Caspian Sea.
For his part, President Aliyev said that Azerbaijan is keen to develop ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the energy sector in the Caspian Sea region.
Aliyev went on to say that Iran and Azerbaijan have an exemplary and brotherly friendship, but certain powers seek to sabotage this relationship.
The Iranian and Azeri presidents later exchanged views privately on bilateral issues.
In another meeting with Afghan President Hamed Karzai, Ahmadinejad stated that Iran is prepared to develop all-out ties with Afghanistan.
He called Afghans’ religiosity, cultural courage, and patriotism great assets of Afghanistan.
Karzai, for his part, called for Iran's support for the Afghan government and nation.
In another meeting with Kazakh Prime Minister Daniel Akhmetov, the president said that Tehran's policy is based on stronger bilateral and multilateral cooperation with regional states in line with the interests of their nations.
Akhmetov welcomed Ahmadinejad's call, saying his country favors cooperation with Tehran in different fields, especially in the oil and gas sectors.
He said Kazakhstan is ready to exchange high-ranking delegations with Tehran to find ways to expand mutual ties.
In a separate meeting with the Chairman of the Caucasus Muslim Board, Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazadeh, Ahmadinejad said that as two countries with close ties and very strong cultural and religious bonds, Iran and Azerbaijan should try to promote religion in their territories.
Pashazadeh provided the president with a report of the situation of Muslims in the Caucasus region and said the community of Caucasus Muslims considers Iran’s success, prosperity, and progress as their own.