PM Manmohan Singh to visit Iran

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Iran on a date to be decided mutually after consultations.

Singh accepted in principle the invitation of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad to visit Iran when the two leaders met today on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session currently on here.

The dates for the visit will be decided by the two sides after diplomatic consultations. This was the first meeting between the two leaders after a long time and they reviewed bilateral relations, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told reporters while briefing them about the meeting.

If Singh visits Iran, it will be the first Prime Ministerial visit after 10 years when former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee made a trip to Tehran in 2001. There have been visits at other levels over the years between the two countries. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar will also be visiting Iran shortly.

The meeting also decided the Joint Economic Commission between the two sides will be meeting soon to be co-chaired by the Foreign Minister of Iran.

The two leaders reviewed situation in Afghanistan and discussed developments in West Asia and North Africa. They also agreed to review the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which will be chaired next by Tehran.

Replying to a question whether the meeting between Singh and Ahmedinejad will have any impact on the Indo-US relations against the backdrop of American officials walking out during a speech by the Iranian President earlier in the week, Mathai said the focus of the two leaders was on bilateral issues.

The Iranian President would be the next Chairman of the NAM, he noted.

He also said the gas pipeline proposal between India and Iran was not discussed, adding a wide range of economic issues including long term cooperation were discussed.