Iran ready to help restore peace to Somalia: Mottaki

Tehran, Dec 30, IRNA – Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here on Tuesday that Iran is ready to help restore calm and peace to Somalia through South Africa.

In a meeting with his Somali counterpart, Ahmad Jama Jangali, Mottaki added that welfare and development will be achieved only in the wake of peace and stability.

Referring to the critical situation in Somali, Mottaki said that terrorism and extremism know no borders and all the parties in the country and the international community should help establish peace and stability in Somalia and the region.

“We believe terrorism is detrimental not only to Somalia but also to the entire region and the world,” he said, calling for a unified strategy to restore normalcy to the country.

Referring to the failure of the US policy in Afghanistan and pursuing insecurity in the country, Mottaki said that terrorism and extremism are interlinked and the ugly phenomena can be curbed only through a regional approach.

He also announced that Iranian companies are ready to attend the country and help strengthen its economic infrastructure.

Jangali, for his part, said that the two countries have numerous commonalities and called for development of bilateral ties.

He further added that Somalia is under a tense condition due to two decades of crisis. Extremism and organized crimes have affected not only the country but also the entire region.

Stressing the need to adopt a comprehensive approach to solve the crisis in the country, he described Iran as a great and influential country in the region and Islamic world./end