Iran-Algeria Should Use All Opportunities To Develop Ties: MP

Tehran, April 19, IRNA – Iran and Algeria should use all opportunities and capacities to deepen relations, Head of Iran-Algeria Parliamentary Friendship Group Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said here Wednesday. Haddad-Adel made the remark during a visit to the Algerian Embassy in Tehran. Haddad Adel praised the first president after the independence Algeria, Ahmed Ben Bella, adding that he has always been respected by the Iranian nation and government. Algerian leaders have publicly backed Iran’s ongoing peaceful nuclear program on numerous occasions. In November of 2008, Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia voiced Algeria’s support for Iran’s right to “peaceful nuclear technology.” In July 2007, Iran hosted a number of representatives from the Non-Aligned Movement, including Algeria, to take a tour of Iran’s uranium conversion facilities at Esfahan. Bilateral economic cooperation between Algeria and Iran has increased since a resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries in September 2000. During a 2007 visit to Algeria, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated that “Iran is determined to remove all obstacles” to developing economic ties between Iran and Algeria. Over 2008, bilateral trade between Algeria and Iran doubled from 25 dlrs million in 2007 to 50 dlrs million. In addition to bilateral trade in commercial good, Iran and Algeria have mutually invested in one another’s energy, industrial, banking, and agricultural industries. In the context of energy cooperation, Iran and Algeria are both members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and hold the world’s second- and sixth-largest natural gas reserves, respectively. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika visited Tehran in 2008 to discuss the expansion of relations among Islamic states with his Iranian counterpart. President Ahmadinejad stated that “cooperation among Islamic nations for resolving regional and international problems will deepen relations among regional countries.” Ahmadinejad said that Iran and Algeria share fundamental stances on most regional and international issues. Bouteflika agreed that “the Islamic states should make every effort to resolve regional and global problems and establish peace and stability in the Islamic world.” Ahmed Ben Bella was an Algerian soldier and revolutionary who was the first President of Algeria from 1963 to 1965/end