Sudan, Iran ink accords on agricultural quarantine
KHARTOUM, Sep 8, 2004 (SUNA) — Sudan and the Islamic Republic of Iran Wednesday signed a memo of understanding and agreement on agricultural quarantine at the end of the meeting of the joint Sudanese-Iranian Ministerial committee.
Minister of Energy and Mining and Chairman of the Sudanese side, Dr. Awad Ahmed Al-Jazz, affirmed the importance of the convocation of the committee and the Memo of Understanding prior to the expected visit of the Iranian President, Mohamed Khatami, to Sudan next October, saying that it would be a turning point in the history of the Sudanese-Iranian relations.
He further urged speedy implementation of the signed agreements and increasing of commercial exchange between the two countries. The Iranian Minister of Agriculture and Chairman of the Iranian side, Mahmoud Hujati, stressed importance of exchanging visits of officials from the two countries as well as implementing the agreements signed by the two sides.
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On the other and the official Islamic Republic News Agency
(IRNA) published the following report on the visit of Iranian minister to Sudan:
Iranian agriculture minister meets Sudan Speaker
TEHRAN, Sep 8, 2004 (IRNA) — Iranian Agriculture Jihad Minister Mahmud Hojjati met on Tuesday with Sudanese National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Ibrahim al-Tahir in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
According to the Information and Press Department of the Foreign Ministry, Al-Tahir described the ongoing eighth Iran-Sudan joint economic commission session as “constructive”.
The Sudanese speaker said the commission session, which is to conclude today, is taking place within the framework of current Iran-Sudan political relations, noting that expansion of political ties was key to consolidating the countries’ bilateral relations.
Referring to a planned visit by President Khatami to Sudan, he said the Sudanese nation and government were eagerly expecting the Iranian president.
Alluding to the importance attached by officials of both sides to the four-day commission meeting, Al-Tahir hoped that the different memoranda of understanding (MoU) signed by the two sides in the course of the meeting would be duly implemented and thereby boost bilateral ties.
He pointed to the establishment of the Iran-Sudan Parliamentary Friendship Group, one of the aims of which is to promote effective regional and international cooperation between the parliaments of the two sides.
The eighth Iran-Sudan joint economic commission session kicked off in the city of Khartoum 5 September.