/ 14 September 2010

Ahmadinejad says Iran, Africa want new world order

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran and Africa wanted a new world order to replace the existing one which has been created by “slave masters”, as he opened an Iran-Africa conference on Tuesday.

“The mutual feeling is that the world needs a new management system,” the Mehr news agenc quoted him as saying in his speech at the start of the two-day forum in Tehran attended by dignitaries
from several African countries.

The hardline president, who has often blamed the West for the ongoing economic crisis, said the current world order was created by “former colonisers and slave masters … to continue exploiting the wealth of African nations”.

He offered Iran’s cooperation in helping develop Africa, saying the Islamic republic “has no limit” in aiding the continent, especially when it came to exporting technology there.

Those attending the conference hosted by Tehran were Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika and his Senegalese counterpart Abdoulaye Wade, and ministers from several other African countries.

Mutharika said he envisioned a speedy development of relations between Iran and Africa over the next five years.

“We will soon witness the installation of many Iranian industries in Africa,” he said in his speech quoted by state television’s website.

The conference aims to discuss how Iran can assist in developing Africa. – AFP