In Tehran, Bosnia's Prime Minister Shows Solidarity
NICOSIA (Reuters)—Bosnian Prime Minister Hasan Muratovic arrived in Tehran on Sunday (March 3) and said his country would always remember Iranian aid during fighting with Bosnian Serbs, the Iranian news agency IRNA said.It reported that Muratovic "said... the Iranian government and nation offered humanitarian assistance to Bosnia at a time when its Islamic identity had been jeopardized, stressing that the Bosnians will never forget the significance of such an assistance."
On arrival in Tehran, Muratovic told reporters that meetings were to be held in Sarajevo and in Pakistan's capital Islamabad to accelerate Bosnia's reconstruction following the Dayton peace accord. He did not say when the meetings would be held.
He later met Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and expressed his country's hope that Iran and other Muslim states would contribute to the reconstruction effort "as they were beside the oppressed Bosnian people in the course of their defense," IRNA said.
Rafsanjani "voiced Iran's readiness to participate in reconstruction projects," it added.
Earlier Sunday Iranian Vice-President Hassan Habibi said Tehran, which backed Bosnian Muslims in their three-and-a-half-year war against Bosnian Serbs, would expand its cooperation with the Bosnian government.
"Now that conditions have improved in Bosnia, Iran will continue its assistance to the Bosnian Muslims and will work to expand its cooperation," IRNA quoted him as saying.
The New York Times
Iran Online
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