TEHRAN - Sudan has refused to grant a visa to an Iranian delegation of political activists planning to visit the country for the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), media reported on Tuesday. 

The activists subsequently decided to boycott the meeting in protest against this undiplomatic conduct, an Iranian political activist said. 

A delegation from the Islamic Coalition Party had been denied a visa by Sudan for participation in the ICAPP meeting in Khartoum, even though the party had been officially invited by the ICAPP secretariat, party member Mahdi Souli said. 

Following the visa refusal, Founding Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Standing Committee of ICAPP and former speaker of the Philippine parliament, Jose de Venecia, sent a letter to Iran’s embassy in Manila, saying that ICAPP officials would not attend the Sudan gathering in protest.

ICAPP has announced it will hold a meeting in another country at a later date, de Venecia added. 

The International Conference of Asian Political Parties was launched in Manila in September 2000 to promote exchanges and cooperation between political parties with various ideologies from different Asian countries. It aims to enhance mutual understanding and trust among Asian countries and to promote Asia’s regional cooperation.

KB/PA