The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr Mohammad Soleymani, has extended an invitation to the President of Ghana, Mr John Dramani Mahama, to pay a state visit to Tehran to discuss issues of mutual interest to the two countries.
Those issues, he said, would help to promote the spirit of the Non-Aligned Movement, international decision making and the import and export of cocoa beans between the two countries.
Ambassador Soleyman, who made the call at the 35th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic revolution of Iran, said Iran would assist Ghana to develop areas such as education, health and agriculture.
The anniversary was attended by the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Nana Oye Lithur, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection and some members of the diplomatic corps.
Purpose of the anniversary
In 1979, an uprising of the Iranian people, headed by the late Imam Khomeini, led to the overthrow of Mohammad Rezá Shad Pahlavi. An Islamic political system was, then, established by popular vote in a referendum.
Ambassador Soleymani said over the last 35 years, the Republic of Iran had been able to make valuable achievements in political, social, scientific and economic fields.
Fight against terrorism
He explained that the main task confronting Iran today was how to fight terrorism, adding that the country had been known as the main victim of terrorism.
The ambassador said due to those problems, Iran had been targeted by numerous internal and external terrorists gangs which had resulted in many citizens and diplomats losing their lives.
“The elimination of this type of crime in all its forms by tackling its root causes, irrespective of selective approaches, is important towards maintaining security in the country,” he said.
Nuclear energy
Highlighting on the use of nuclear energy, the ambassador gave the assurance that the nuclear energy would be used for peaceful purposes.
He said its energy would not be used by monopolised countries which wished to impose their hegemony over others.
He said the nuclear system would operate under the supervision of a competent authority from scientific, as well as legal points of view.
Investment
The minister of state in charge of public and private partnership, Mr Alhaji Rashid Pelpuo, commended Iran for the pledge to assist Ghana in its developmental process.
He also commended Iran for her support to Ghana through the award of scholarships to participate in various training programmes in areas such as health, petroleum and petro-chemical engineering.
Alhaji Pelpuo urged the Iranian business community to take advantage of the prevailing investor-friendly political climate in Ghana and invest in areas where they had wealth of knowledge and experience.
“Iran could also invest in the modernisation of air and seaport, funding of infrastructure projects, water resources among others,” he said.
The minister said Ghana would continue to strengthen and expand its relationship with Iran as they shared commitments to democracy, good governance, respect for the rule of law and empowerment of the two countries.