Iranian President Invites Nigerian Counterpart to NAM Summit

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad invited his Nigerian counterpart Mahamadou Issoufou to attend the upcoming heads-of-state summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran in August.

Iran’s Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare Abdolreza Sheikholeslami extended President Ahmadinejad’s invitation to the Nigerien leader to take part in the forthcoming NAM summit in Tehran.

Sheikholeslam also said that there are no obstacles in the way of stronger relations between the Islamic Republic and African countries, particularly the Republic of Niger.

He said that latest regional and international developments, particularly those in North Africa, require the expansion of ties between Iran and friendly states like Niger.

Issoufou, for his part, described Iran and Niger as two major Muslim states, stressing that religious commonalities between the two countries have helped further promote Niamey-Tehran relations. Niger is ready to bolster ties with Iran in all areas, the Nigerien president stated

The 16th NAM summit will be held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, from August 26 to 31, when Iran will assume the rotating presidency of the movement for three years.

NAM is comprised of some 120 member states and 17 observer countries.