According to Iran Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday officially welcomed Head of State Bharrat Jagdeo at the presidential palace in Tehran, the country’s capital, where the two leaders held discussions on several world issues as well as relations between the two countries.

At the meeting, President Jagdeo called for expansion and consolidation of ties between the two countries and said there is great potential to bolster economic and commercial cooperation.

President Ahmadinejad supported this call, noting that the current level of economic, cultural and political cooperation between Guyana and Iran can be bolstered, and expressed his hope to witness the expansion of relations and cooperation in these fields over the coming years.

“The capacities and potentialities existing in the two countries can be utilised to expand mutual cooperation,” IRNA quoted him as saying.

This is the final leg of the President’s trip to the Middle East that also saw him visiting Kuwait and the United Arab Emirate (UAE) to generate interest in Guyana as an investment location and to strengthen ties with non-traditional trading partners.

Last year, the President had stressed that the global economic and financial crisis had made it difficult for Guyana to seek foreign direct investment (FDI) from the developed world and Guyana’s traditional allies. As a result, he highlighted the need to develop new relations with other countries, including those of the Middle East.
The President had made two visits to the region last year that saw him visit Libya, Greece, Cyprus and Jordan. (GINA)