Ban, Omani FM satisfied with new opportunities to engage Iran

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Omani Foreign Minister Yousef bin Alawi Bin Abdulla expressed satisfaction with "new opportunities" to engage Iran, UN press office said in a statement on Tuesday following their bilateral meeting. Both official were referring indirectly to the election of the new Iranian President, Hasan Rohani. Both officials considered his election a "recent positive development in the region," along with the Security Council resolution on Syria's chemical weapons adopted last Friday. World leaders expressed optimism in the General Assembly debate last week that Iran may change its behavior towards its nuclear programme, its neighbours and the west now that it has a new leader. On Iran's nuclear programme, the Omani Foreign Minister told the Assembly that "with our emphasis on the right of States to benefit from the nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, it is worth mentioning that the end of this dispute does not come through coercive policies and practices, such as sanctions and other measures with limited frames that weaken their effectiveness, rather it is through creative diplomacy that can help all states to benefit from the nuclear energy for peaceful purposes." Ban also noted during his meeting with Bin Abdullah the united commitment of world leaders in the Assembly debate to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and thanked Oman for its continued generous support to the United Nations. Bin Abdulla also said in his speech to the Assembly that Oman has achieved a 100 percent the 4th and 5th, out of the eight MDGs, which are related to reducing child mortality and improving maternal health