The latest developments in Afghanistan were top on the agenda.
The Azerbaijani capital is hosting a meeting of the foreign ministers of the NAM member states.
The meeting will run through October 24, and then the 18th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the NAM countries would be held in the city.
There is a country in the “New World Order” that does not exist – with a population of about 71 million people of different races and ethnicities.
They speak different languages, they don’t practice the same religion, they don’t have a flag, and if they had, it might be red and black.
Every day, 37,000 people are added to the population of this country with no fixed geography; people who have less in common, but have one pain in common: displacement.
War and conflict, violence and persecution are the main cause of these displacements. Afghanistan has the second largest number of asylum seekers with 2.7 million people.
As statistics show, most Afghan asylum seekers either migrate to neighbouring Iran – or at least cross the border into other parts of the world.
At a time when many people are displaced by war and insecurity from their home and homeland, the economic activities of refugees in Iran are a good example of how effective measures by both sides can transform the lives of refugees and their hosts.
Zeinab Shaban is one of those who has taken the initiative in the battle of life. The one who was once classified as a “refugee” is now a refuge for some families. She is one of a million Afghan refugees in Iran who have fled their home country in search of security and a new life after 40 years of conflict.
The Iranian government continues to implement its policies on refugees in the fields of health, education and livelihoods, and with the assistance of the UNHCR, provides various training packages of entrepreneurship to young immigrant refugees such as Zeinab.
At the age of 19, she learned sewing skill at a technical training course and based on it, she designed a business plan.
“When I lost my husband, I realised that if I was going to make something of myself, something that I would be really proud of, now is the time,” she says.
With the support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Shiraz, she could buy a set of sewing equipment to produce clothes at home.
She says she had started out on a small scale and received a few orders from neighbours, but after a short while the orders increased.
Zeinab recognised the potential for expansion of her job and signed contract with one of Iran’s largest hospitals in Shiraz.
“I could sign a contract to produce clothes for the largest hospital in southern Iran,” she said.
Hospital officials, impressed with the quality of her products, increased their orders, and Zeinab quickly became the main supplier of hospital’s clothing. She also visited other hospitals and signed other contracts with three medical institutions in southern Iran, as well as several medical and pharmaceutical stores.
To meet this growing demand, Zeinab, with the support of the UNHCR, purchased 13 professional sewing machines and other stuff to equip her workshop with all the equipment to design, manufacture and distribute hospital clothing and bedding.
Obtaining a formal license and registering the workshop allowed Zeinab to create jobs for others as well.
She recruited over ten Afghan and Iranian women and gave priority to the most vulnerable ones. In addition, she has run a free training program for Iranian and Afghan women and has trained more than 200 women since 2014. She has helped them improve their skills.
Now, Zeinab’s Sewing Workshop in Shiraz has 30 full-time female workers and meets the needs of five hospitals.
During the meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the two sides conferred on the latest developments in bilateral relations, regional issues especially in northern Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and the Persian Gulf developments.
They also discussed the Hormuz Peace Endeavour (HOPE) initiative proposed by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and other issues of mutual interest.
“Iran welcomes any move that would result in the maintenance of Syria’s territorial integrity, reinforcement of its national sovereignty, and return of stability and calm to the region,” Mousavi said in a Wednesday statement.
“To this end, the Islamic Republic considers the agreement reached between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey to end the conflicts in northern Syria as a positive step to return stability and calm to the region,” he added.
“We hope the conclusion of this agreement would prepare the grounds for allaying Turkey’s security concerns on the one hand and maintaining Syria’s territorial integrity and reinforcing its national sovereignty on the other hand,” he added.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported dialogue and peaceful means of dispute settlement, and therefore has always encouraged the parties involved to negotiate and reach an understanding,” the spokesman said.
“To this end, Iran considers the Adana Agreement as a proper basis for allaying the concerns of Turkey and Syria, and will not spare any effort to help create dialogue and understanding between Ankara and Damascus,” he added.
Mousavi said the presence of foreign forces in northern Syria does not ensure security in the region, adding that the solution to regional problems is inside the region.
“The withdrawal of American troops from the region will result in the return of calm and security,” he noted.
“Fortunately, the effects of the Astana Process mechanism on ensuring peace and security in the region will become more tangible in the near future with the formation of the country’s Constitutional Committee, and we are confident it will be regarded as a major step to return permanent calm and stability to Syria,” the spokesman noted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in the southern Russian resort city of Sochi on Tuesday with a shared agenda of shaping the endgame in Syria’s eight-year civil war.
The two leaders unveiled a 10-point memorandum of understanding with an unstated bottom line: The Americans do not have a place in shaping the future of Syria.
Russia and Turkey announced a wide-ranging agreement that addresses a major Turkish concern — the presence of Kurdish YPG forces near their border.
Under the deal, Russian military police and Syrian border guards will enter the Syrian side of the Syrian-Turkish border from noon Wednesday. Over the next 150 hours, they are to remove the YPG and their weapons, back to 30 km (about 18 miles) from the border. From 6 p.m. local time next Tuesday, the Russian military police and Turkish military will begin patrols along that line.
The president will travel to Baku to attend and deliver a speech at the 18th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), said Alireza Moezzi, the deputy head of the Iranian president’s office for communications.
“In addition to addressing the summit and elaborating on the Islamic Republic’s stances on major regional and international affairs, Rouhani will also hold bilateral meetings with the Azeri president,” he added.
“In the meeting, the two sides will review the most pressing issues in Tehran-Baku relations, and the trend of implementing agreements and joint projects,” Moezzi noted.
“On the sidelines of the NAM Leaders’ Summit, the Iranian president will also hold separate talks with some of the leaders attending the summit, during which the most important issues of mutual interest, regional and international developments will be discussed.”
President Rouhani will return to Iran on Friday night, Moezzi said.
At the Summit, the Republic of Azerbaijan will take over the presidency of the NAM for a three-year period (2019-2022).
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is an international organization (group of countries) who do not want to be officially aligned (friends) with or against any major power bloc (group of countries). In 2018, the movement had 125 members and 25 observer countries, which account for 55 percent of the world’s population.
The group began its performance on October 19 which included traditional musical performances and Taziyeh or passion play.
Warsaw University, Lublin Municipality, Asia and Pacific Museum, Praga Cultural Centre of Warsaw and Dominican Church in Lublin will host the programs.
The event is being held in collaboration with the Iranian embassy in Poland.
The band staged its first performance at the Dominican Church in Lublin to promote the culture of Ashura.
Taziyeh is a the commemoration of the martyrdom of the third Imam of the Shiite Muslims, Hossein ibn Ali (AS) and his companions in the desert of Karbala.
Following you can find the photos of the performance retrieved from ISNA:
Speaking at a meeting of administrative officials on Tuesday, Vaezi said Iran continues to make headway towards development and progress.
In spite of its adverse effects on Iran’s economy, the unprecedented economic war imposed by the US government has failed to stop the Islamic Republic’s growing economic trend, he added.
“Thanks to the administration’s broad planning, the country has turned into a manufacturing workshop and the trend in development continues,” Vaezi underlined.
He also noted that the administration has managed to run the country despite the sanctions on the oil sales and a reduction of foreign incomes, saying the administration would have celebrated much more achievements if the US had not imposed the unprecedented sanctions after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal.
In comments on Monday, First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said despite all sanctions and cruel pressures against Iran, the volume of exports during the first half of the current year has risen by 22 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.
Foreign Minister Zarif left Tehran for Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku on Tuesday evening to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement Member States.
The meeting is due to be held on Wednesday and Thursday, in advance of the 18th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will be partaking in the 18th NAM Summit, slated for Friday in the capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
On the second day of his visit to Oman, Iranian Minister of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Ali-Asghar Mounesan held a meeting with Oman’s Minister of Tourism Ahmed bin Nasser Al Mahrizi on Tuesday.
Highlighting Iran’s positive attitude towards Oman, Mounesan said closer cooperation in the tourism sector would expand the bilateral ties between the two Muslim nations in the other fields as well.
Around 8 million foreign tourists visit Iran each year, the Iranian minister added, saying part of those travelers could be dispatched to Oman.
Mounesan also highlighted the suitable conditions and numerous tourist attractions in Iran, noting that the Omani people could enjoy the Islamic Republic’s medical facilities, health services, advanced hospitals and highly skilled physicians.
The minister then praised Oman’s efforts to ease visa restrictions for the Iranian travelers, adding that Iran was ready to share its experience in the archeology and repair of historic monuments with Oman.
For his part, Al Mahrizi expressed hope that the Tourism Ministries of the two countries could make great strides in granting visas and providing services for the tourists.
He also noted that Oman has demanded a rise in the number of direct flights to Iran, saying his country was also prepared to launch a shipping route to Iran’s southern port city of Bandar Abbas to transfer tourists on cruise ships.
The Omani minister also hailed a 42 percent rise in the number of Iranian and Omani tourists visiting each other’s countries in 2017 and 2018, saying more Iranian travelers are expected to visit Oman in future.
In a statement on Tuesday, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran Seyyed Abbas Mousavi congratulated the government and nation of the friendly state, Bolivia, on holding a democratic and inclusive presidential election that led to re-election of President Evo Morales.
The spokesman also wished Bolivia welfare and growing prosperity.
Bolivia’s electoral authority announced Monday night that President Morales was set to win the presidential election by avoiding a runoff in his re-election bid.
Morales, who has been in power for nearly 14 years, topped the eight other candidates in Sunday’s presidential election.
© All Content by IFP News ( Iran Front Page ) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
