Qatar's ruler Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani said today that application of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes is among Iran's legitimate rights.
"We believe that construction of nuclear power plant for peaceful purposes is a legitimate right for all countries including Iran," he said.
He made the remarks at a joint press conference with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prior to departure for home and after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on mutual cooperation.
Qatar underlines that benefiting from peaceful nuclear technology and running nuclear power plants should be within the rules and regulations of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the Qatari Amir.
He called his current visit to Iran as a good opportunity to further broaden ties between Tehran and Doha and hoped to witness expansion of all-out economic and political ties within the framework of the MoU signed by the two sides.
The Qatari Amir had said his country attaches great importance to enhancement of ties with Iran in all fields and expressed his view that Tehran-Doha ties should be an example for regional states
Describing the two sides relations as deep-rooted and stable, he said both countries' officials are determined to further expand bilateral ties.
Sheikh Hamad held separate meetings with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, President Ahmadinejad, Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
Iran's foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki stressed the importance of taking measures to raise the position of Muslims in international decision-making bodies and processes, saying this is "inevitable."
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei emphasized during the meeting the need for broader relations and deeper ties among the Islamic countries. He said, "Iran and Qatar need to expand bilateral cooperation more than ever, since the closeness among regional countries would not only serve the interests of both nations, but would also secure the interests of the regional countries and the Islamic World."
Khamenei referred to oil and gas as the life bottle of the industrial civilization of the West, emphasizing, "Taking advantage of the Muslims' natural resources, the Westerners have achieved scientific advancement and are now using it as a means aimed at strengthening their hegemony and imposing pressure on the Islamic countries."
Khamenei considered the relations and cooperation among the Islamic countries as two bare necessities, reiterating, "Such closeness and cooperation among regional countries has of course enemies, atop which are the United States and the Zionist Regime." Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the broad scale efforts pursued by the enemies of the Islamic Revolution of Iran during the early years after the victory of this revolution aimed at creating an atmosphere of pessimism and enmity among the regional countries against Iran.
He added, " Despite the efforts pursued by the enemies to create a negative feeling between us and our neighbors during that period, that atmosphere does not exist today and the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to cooperate with all countries in the region."
For his part, President Ahmadinejad highlighted the two sides' negotiations and said that Iran and Qatar consider each other's progress and development as their own and are of the belief that the Persian Gulf region should be a center of peace and tranquility for all regional countries.
"It is predicted that the current visit of the Qatari Amir to Tehran which was made upon my invitation will lead to further promotion of ties between the two sides," Ahmadinejad said.
Referring to six MoU's signed by the two countries in economic and political fields, he expressed hope that the Qatari Amir's visit would led to expansion of mutual as well as regional relations and cooperation. Iran and Qatar signed documents on customs cooperation, a memorandum of understanding on expansion of cooperation in the fields of tourism and fisheries, cooperation between the two countries' chambers of commerce including an agreement to establish a joint economic commission in these chambers and an additional protocol on air services.
Ahmadinejad said that the two sides have agreed to continue mutual cooperation and never be influenced by foreigners, he said.
Ahmadinejad had earlier stated that "The presence of foreign forces in the region is a factor leading to emergence of crises and instability, therefore, in order to establish lasting peace and stability, they have to leave the region as soon as possible."
Sheikh Hamad bin-Khalifa Al-Thani had considered the maintenance and strengthening of the foundations of peace and stability in the region as a "shared responsibility of all Persian Gulf littoral countries, announcing his country's readiness to cooperate with Iran and other regional countries in that respect.
Sheikh Hamad Bin said, "Expansion of ties with the Islamic countries, particularly the Islamic Republic of Iran, is among the top priorities of Qatar's foreign policy today." Evaluating his talks with the Iranian officials in Tehran as "constructive", the Amir of Qatar added, "We too, believe the Islamic countries have to broaden the sphere of cooperation and to take advantage of their natural resources and manpower to strengthen their scientific, economic, and health foundations, and to increase their capabilities."