Iran, Côte d'Ivoire drug fight necessary

TEHRAN, Oct. 17 (MNA) – Iran’s Javad Zarif has called for Iran- Côte d'Ivoire cooperation to fight international drug cartels along with improved relations in international organizations. Zarif and his counterpart from Côte d'Ivoire Abdallah Albert Toikeusse Mabri met on Sunday. Mr. Mabri is in Iran by an official invitation of the Foreign Ministry. Zarif said that diverse fields as science and technology and agriculture along with fighting against terrorism and drug cartels provided both countries to review level of relations; “the West African country would engage more actively in efforts waged by Iran in curbing the influx of drugs from Middle East to Africa and the rest of the world,” Zarif added. Mr. Mabri for his part congratulated Iran for its success in clinching a nuclear deal with the 5+1 as an achievement for the Islamic world as well; “Iran is a great regional power especially in economics and in its influence exercised in the region; we hope to establish a joint commission by the first quarter of 2017 in Abidjan; Iran would be a great partner for us in energy and banking, with human rights, drug fights, agriculture, and science and technology in queue for improvements,” he concluded his brief address.