25 September 2011
Nouakchott - The Presidents of Iran and Mauritania in a statement on Sunday underlined the need for establishment of an international system on the basis of justice and respect for nations' rights. Given the cultural and Islamic commonalities between the two states, they underscored expansion of cooperation in various areas.

They also welcomed inauguration of their embassies in Tehran and Nouakchott.

Ahmadinejad and Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz also agreed to prepare the ground for establishing joint political and economic commissions, the statement added.

Describing the issue of Palestine as of special significance in the Islamic world, the statement also expressed support for the Palestinians struggle.

Abdel Aziz also welcomed Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and recalled the member states' right to peaceful nuclear energy.

Both presidents also stressed the need for building a world without weapons of mass-destruction and called for measures by international organizations to materialize this.

During his first official visit to the country, Ahmadinejad discussed international and regional issues with his Mauritanian counterpart.

Pursuing of the agreements signed recently by the two countries and exploring avenues for developing bilateral ties were among other topics mentioned in the statement.

Both sides also agreed to have regular consultations on international issues within the Organization of Islamic Conferencee and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

Stressing the need to remain committed to the anti-terrorism stances, they also called for distinguishing terrorism from legitimate defense.

After a short stay in the country, the Iranian president left Mauritania for Sudan to confer with the country's President Omar Hassen Al-Beshir on ways of promoting bilateral relations and discuss regional developments.

© IRNA 2011