Oil giants Iran and Nigeria, having limited links outside of the powerful OPEC cartel, are aiming to strengthen their ties with Tuesday's arrival in Tehran of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
"Our two nations have practically identical resources, and that should give some impetus to links between Tehran and Lagos," Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said, cited Tuesday by state news agency IRNA.
He said the two countries had worked together not only within OPEC but also in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Group of 77 (G-77) developing nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.
But it is their prodigious oil and gas reserves which are expected to be at the heart of the talks. Nigeria produces a little more than two million barrels of oil daily (bpd), compared to Iran's 3.8 million bpd.
IRNA reported that Kharazi met Monday evening with his Nigerian counterpart, Alhaji Sule Lamidopo, who hailed Iran as a "major country in the region that is influential worldwide."
He said Nigeria is seeking to "strengthen relations and exchange experiences in the realm of development."
The visit is the first to the sensitive Middle East region by Obasanjo, a born-again Christian, since he took power in May 1999.As well as being the world's sixth largest oil exporter, Nigeria is Africa's most populous country, with its more than 120 million people split roughly evenly between Muslims and Christians.
Since Obasanjo came to power, nine northern states have declared strict Islamic law and the country has been shaken twice by bloody religious riots.
He is expected to arrive in the Islamic Republic of Iran late Tuesday afternoon and is due back in Nigeria on Wednesday night.—AFP.
©--Agence France Presse.
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
