Iran, Ghana reiterate bolstering of bilateral parliamentary ties

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and his Ghanaian counterpart Edward Doe Ajaho in a meeting in Tehran on Monday called for the further expansion of bilateral ties between the two countries, specially in parliamentary fields. During the meeting in the Iranian capital today, Larijani pointed to the history of Iran-Ghana bilateral relations, and said, “In the field of parliamentary cooperation, the two countries have shown positive interests and we discussed the preliminary steps for cooperation between different parliament sections and, God willingly, this bond will become stronger in future.” The Ghanaian parliament speaker, for his part, pointed to Iran-Ghana friendly relations, and said, “These relations have been more at governmental and executive levels so far, but from now on we want to strengthen Iran-Ghana relations at the parliamentary level as well because parliaments are the place where real representatives of the people are present and we think if parliamentary relations are strengthened, the two countries’ all-out ties will also be expanded.” The Ghanaian parliament speaker arrived in Tehran at the head of a high-ranking delegation on Monday. Doe Ajaho is also slated to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Tehran has prioritized promotion of its economic and political ties with the African states and the country is now considered as one of the African Union's strategic partners. Tehran's efforts to boost ties and cooperation with Africa have led to its acceptance as an observing member of the African Union (AU), where it has shown an active presence in the AU summit meetings.