Iran president’s Rio visit to enhance mutual ties: Envoy to Brazil

Iran’s envoy to Brazil says the Iranian president’s second visit to the country will facilitate further expansion of bilateral ties as well as offering new insights on global affairs through his participation in the Rio+20 Earth Summit.

The Islamic Republic’s Ambassador to Brazil Mohammad Ali Qane’zadeh asserted on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Rio+20 summit that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will engage in other meetings and activities in the course of his participation in the global environmental conference that would lead to further enhancement of relations between Tehran and Brasilia.

Saying that Iran-Brazil ties are 110 years old, the Iranian envoy described bilateral trade relations between the two states as expanding and stated that the trade volume between the two allies stood at $2.4 billion in 2011 and is expected to reach an even greater volume during current Gregorian calendar year.

He added that the ongoing visit by President Ahmadinejad to participate in the Rio+20 global environmental summit in Rio de Janeiro is his second formal tour of the country and will serve as a significant step towards further expansion of relations between the two allies.

The Iranian president arrived in Brazil early Wednesday, leading a high-level delegation, on a two-day official visit at the invitation of his Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff to participate in the Rio+20 Summit on the second leg of his ongoing Latin American tour to attend the Rio+20 Summit.

The high-level environmental meeting, also known as the Earth Summit, which is formally called the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, is in progress at the Riocentro Convention Center in Rio de Janeiro and will end on June 22.

Following the summit, President Ahmadinejad will travel to Venezuela on the last leg of his South American tour for a state visit.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, Vice President for Executive Affairs Hamid Baqaei, and Vice President for International Affairs Ali Sa’eedlou are accompanying the president on the trip.