Food security, Energy issues and sustainable development are among the major issues to be discussed during the sixteenth Non-Aligned Movement meet to be held at Iranian capital Tehran next week. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Saturday , Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said Prime minister Dr Manmohan will be participating in the summit level meetings of Heads of state.
Mathai said Prime Minister will meet the Supreme leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his visit to the country. He said, India attaches great importance to ties with Iran and the Prime Minister will also seek to boost cooperation in key areas, including trade during his meetings with the Iranian leadership.
Mathai said said trade relations between the two countries are improving in last few years. Bi-lateral trade between India and Iran during 2011-12 is 15.9 billion US dollar.
He said , on the side lines of the NAM summit, the Prime Minister will also meet a host of leaders including from Pakistan.
Ahead of the NAM Summit, India, Iran and Afghanistan will hold a strategic trilateral meet tomorrow in Tehran. Our correspondent covering the Prime Minister's visit reports, key issues including regional security and economic situation and best utilisation of Chabahar Port, a significant commercial venture, will be discussed. Mathai informed the trilateral meet, to be led by the Deputy Foreign Ministers or Foreign Secretaries of these three countries, will discuss the commercial venture, which is under consideration for some time now.
Located in South East Iran, Chabahar port offers tremendous opportunities for trade and commerce for India in Afghanistan and Central Asia bypassing Pakistan, which blocks the country's land routes.
The trilateral meet is likely to set up a expert's group to study the IPA report and other modalities to develop the port.
The issue of security and stability in Afghanistan is also likely to figure in the meet given the fact that Iran is not in favour of presence of NATO forces in Afghanistan.
The trilateral meet is being held ahead of the NAM Summit on 30th and 31st of this month. Meanwhile, the preparatory meetings in the run up to the Summit begin on Sunday in Teheran with the meeting of Foreign secretaries of NAM countries.
AIR West Asia Correspondent reprts that, the Foreign Secretaries of the 120 member bloc of non aligned nations will discuss the roadmap for the Summit at their two day meeting in Teheran tomorrow. India will be represented by the Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai. The senior officials will prepare the ground work for the NAM stand on several international issues and to promote multi lateral co-operation among the member nations. The meeting is significant in the wake of sanctions on Iran by the western nations, the developments in Syria, Palestine, countering the menace of terrorism and promoting south-south co-operation etc. The meeting will be followed by the External Affairs Ministers meet on August 28-29 and then the summit on August 30-31.Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and Cuban President Raul Castro are among the top leaders who would be attending the NAM summit on Aug30-31.United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will also be there at the Summit next week despite protests from US and Israel. They had asked the UN Secretary General to desist from joining the summit meet.
