[NYTr] NAM Forum - Cuba's Victory at UN Still in Progress: Iranian Minister Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2007 04:20:43 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN) http://ainch.ain.cu/mailman/listinfo/ingles [s the 2nd Non-Aligned Movement Business Forum unfolds in Havana, acn spoke with Iran's Minister of Commerce, Sayyed Masud Mir-Kazemi about the state of bilateral cooperation relations and their prospects. The Iranian minister of commerce arrived in Havana on Wednesday heading an official delegation that is participating in the 2nd Business Forum of the Non-Aligned Movement. Iran and Cuba established diplomatic relations in 1979 and launched its bilateral cooperation exchange in 1981.] NAM Forum: Cuba's Victory at UN Still in Progress: Iranian Minister by Luis Chirino Interview with Seyyed Masud Mir-kazemi, Minister of Commerce of the Islamic Republic of Iran acn--What is your opinion on this Second Business Forum held by NAM in Havana, which is being attended by representatives of 42 countries and what are Iran's expectations about it? Mir-Kazemi--This forum has been welcomed by the chambers of commerce of many countries, so we expect it will be successful. Cuba has made a big effort in that regards. On the other hand, the presence here of so many countries confirms that Cuba is not alone; so this meeting could be considered as the continuity of the recent victory garnered by Cuba at the United Nations. For Iran, this forum and all NAM meetings are very important, since I thinkthat Non-Aligned nations need to expand multilateral cooperation and commercial exchange, and thus a higher added value. acn--Could you brief us about your most recent contacts with Cuban government officials in regards to the state of bilateral cooperation relations? Mir-Kazemi--I had talks with Foreign Trade Minister Raul de la Nuez, Vice-president Carlos Lage and with Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas. All three meetings were really fruitful; we talked about the development of bilateral relations, about contracts related to investment protection, trade exchange in the transport sector and in specific industrial areas, in which Cuba wants to have Iranian investment. We also reviewed our current working commitments, as well as other issues that we will follow up in upcoming governmental meetings. Cuba and Iran are interested in expanding bilateral cooperation links; let's not forget that both countries share things in common, both are being threatened by the United States. In fact, I personally look forward to seeing our relations quite advanced in the future. acn-Cuba and Iran established cooperation relations in 1981 and that exchange has grown over the years. Could you refer to some of the most recent bilateral actions aimed at further expanding those relations? Mir-Kazemi--Not long ago, Iran granted Cuba a 200-million-dollar credit line. Both countries have signed important business deals, such as the purchase by Cuba of railroad wagons so much needed here, as well as other equipment. We are now paving the way for Iranian companies to participate in other Cuban economic sectors, such as agriculture, the construction material industry, etc. Those issues are being considered by different ministries in our two countries. At present, Iran is importing agricultural products from Cuba and at the same time it is exporting others to the island. Those issues have also been on my agenda of talks with Cuban officials. acn--Upon your arrival in Havana, you reaffirmed Iran's political stance towards Cuba, shortly after 184 UN member nations, including Iran, voted in favor of the Cuban resolution condemning the US economic blockade on Cuba. Mir-Kazemi- As a matter of fact, the vote was a very timely event, since it revealed that a growing number of countries are becoming aware of what is going on in the world. You know, many of them were well aware of that, but they did not dare speak their minds. The vote that took place at the United Nations was a world demonstration against US supremacy, against a unipolar world. The countries of the world wish to live in peace, they reject agressions. acn--Iran has kept a firm stance as to the defense of its right to use nuclear energy with peaceful aims despite the fact that the United States keeps voicing its threatening discourse. At present, the world is following with attention that event. Could you elaborate in this respect? Mir-Kazemi- Any country that defends its independence and self-determination will be threatened by the United States. All countries have the right to use nuclear energy and all nations, including Cuba, need to use clean energy. It must not be a technology only at the disposal of a handful of countries. Iran has always been a peaceful country and when we have faced a conflict it's been because we've been attacked. Iran is a emocratic country; all our leders, at all levels, have been elected by the people and our people know very well the value of their independence and their revolution, so they firmly defend their rights. On the other hand, Iran is a powerful country in the fields of technology, economy and science. However the nuclear issued raised by the United States is just a pretext; if that conflict were resolved, they (the United States) would look for another pretext, because the issue behind all that is Iran's revolution and independence. We stopped the nuclear project some years ago, but Washington did not put an end to its policy against Iran. Now we have resumed the roject and I can say that we are a nuclear country; our people want to use that technology and we are sure that the US administration will always find pretext to back its own interests, either the human right issue or terrorism, even when they constitute the major terrorist government in the world. Therefore, we will go ahead with our nuclear energy program in order to produce that energy and obtain its benefits. -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ Ingles mailing list Ingles@ain.cu http://ainch.ain.cu/mailman/listinfo/ingles * ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us Our main website: http://www.blythe.org List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr =================================================================