The President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, yesterday concluded a two-day official visit to Iran during which he called for dialogue and negotiations to resolve the current impasse over the nuclear issue in Iran.

During the course of the visit, the IPU President held frank discussions conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect which centred around the nuclear issue and the situation in the Middle East.

The President, who was accompanied by the IPU Secretary General, Mr. Anders B. Johnsson, met with Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Gholamali Haddad-Adel, Speaker of the Majlis Shoraye Eslami (Parliament), Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Secretary of the Guardian Council, Mr. Manoochehr Mottaki, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Heshmatollah Falahat Pisheh, the newly-elected President of the IPU Executive Council in Iran, and Mr. Seyed Mohsen Yahyavi, Secretary General of the Iranian IPU Group.

During the talks, the Iranian hosts reiterated their commitment to pursuing a course of dialogue and negotiations to resolve the nuclear issue. They also reiterated, however, that the bottom line of any agreement must contain recognition of their right to enrich uranium for the purpose of nuclear energy.

At the same time, they expressed willingness to provide guarantees that enriched uranium would be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and that the country was willing to submit to an inspection and monitoring regime.

President Casini underscored that dialogue and negotiations were the only possible avenue through which Iran and others countries could hope to reach agreements and solve issues. Parliament had an important role to play since it was elected to represent the people and he was convinced that the people of Iran, like those in other countries, wanted to see major differences solved peacefully through dialogue rather than through confrontation and conflict.

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 146 affiliated parliaments and seven regional assemblies as associate members. The world organisation of parliaments has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer at the United Nations.
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