Iran`s n-technology for peaceful use: FM Kharrazi
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, Feb 22, IRNA -- Addressing a constellation of scholars, academics and policy experts in New Delhi`s elite Sapru House, the Foreign Minister of Iran, Kamal Kharrazi, said, Iran`s "strategy towards nuclear technology is to make peaceful use of nuclear energy and knowledge for the development" of Iran. He said, as a signatory to the NPT, the Islamic Republic has "inalienable and definite right" to make peaceful use of nuclear technology like all other parties to the NPT. The foreign minister said that the peaceful nature of the Iranian n-programme has been acknowledged by Mohamed ElBaradei, the Director General of IAEA, but noted that, certain international forces are acting in defiance of the NPT provisions which guarantee Iran "its right to make peaceful use of nuclear energy". "We have always stated that we are not going to renounce our universally recognised right, and are ready to continue our talks with the IAEA and European states to build further confidence. However, we shall not give up our national interests which are recognised by the rules of the international law and mechanisms set by the United Nations," said the visiting minister. He said, addressing the root causes of terrorism constitutes "a common ground for cooperation among states in their endeavors to safeguard their national security." "The U.S. policy of bellicosity and militarism in a region which includes Iran and India constitutes a real threat to the regional states," he said. He held the unilateral policies of the United States as responsible for intensified terrorism and extremism in the region of West Asia. Kharrazi said that cooperation between Iran and India has prominent place in the scheme of foreign policy of Tehran. He observed that Indo-Iran relationships have placed economic diplomacy on top of their policies. He noted with satisfaction that the Joint Economic Commission has met 14 times in the respective capitals of the countries. "Iran`s immense oil and gas deposits and India`s need for energy in the future have helped open a new chapter in the economic relations between our two countries, which is unprecedented. The execution of the Iran-India gas pipeline can potentially further bolster the strategic relationship between our two countries in the future," Kharrazi said. Kharrazi expressed satisfaction over the progress made by India in the fields of agriculture, industry and IT-related areas and hoped Iran too would benefit from these developments in future. He said Iran`s free trade and special economic zones offer "unique business opportunities" to India. The gas pipeline project, he said, will increase mutual interaction among the three countries -India, Pakistan and Iran- and strengthen peace and friendship in our region. He welcomed the 25-year contract signed between Iran and India for the export of 75 million tons of gas per year to India from Iran`s borders and suggested more Indian investments in Iranian oil and gas fields. The leader also was glad to note that the two countries would benefit from the accessibility of Central Asian countries to the Indian products that India has received through assistance and cooperation from Iran. "Iran allocates considerable facilities for the transportation of Indian goods to Central Asia and Europe and is trying to provide even greater facilities for this purpose," Kharrazi said. The gathered audience was told that though globalisation led to great improvements in the areas of information and communication and led to rapid movement of goods and capital, it threw challenges which hurt the developing world more acutely. The guest said that developing countries of the world should join hands to utilise the present "economic opportunities for the promotion of the well-being and prosperity of" the people of the global South. 2160/2325/1432
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