Suleiman, Nejad Hold Successful Talks, Sign Memorandums

President Michel Suleiman, after receiving Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Baabda had a meeting behind closed doors in which the two parties, in presence of Iranian Ambassador Ghadanfar Rokon Abadi, signed memorandumsand agreements and discussed several issues as well as bilateral relations.

Following the closed meeting, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman held with his Iranian counterpart a joint press conference in which the two announced the signing of bilateral memorandums of understanding including in the agricultural, economic, trade, environmental and energy fields.

President Suleiman thanked his counterpart Ahmadinejad for Iran's continuous support of Lebanon against "Israeli" aggression. "I assured Ahmadinejad that Lebanon is keen to oblige "Israel" on implementing UN Security Council resolutions," Suleiman said.
He stressed on the necessity of preserving national unity and fully implementing UNSC Resolution 1701.

"We also discussed international terrorism and how to differentiate it from the Resistance," Suleiman said.

On the nuclear program, the Lebanese president stressed on the right of states, including Iran, to acquire nuclear energy and use it for peaceful purposes.

The Iranian president in his turn thanked Lebanese officials and its people for hospitality and warm welcoming. "I feel like I am home and in my country," Ahmadinejad said adding that Lebanon's ability to be tough deserves flattering since it brought pride to the countries of the region.

Ahmadinejad added that the talks with Suleiman were "constructive" praising him for being a "strong and firm man". "I assured him that bilateral cooperation has no limits. We signed many agreements on different levels," he announced.

"We support Lebanon's bitter struggle in confronting Israeli assaults. We demand with all seriousness and insistence the liberation of all occupied land in Lebanon and Syria," Ahmadinejad said. "We demand a united and strong Lebanon and we stand by the government and people so this people may achieve all its goals," he added.

Ahmadinejad also thanked Speaker Nabih Berri, who received him in the airport, and Prime Minister Saad Hariri, "because he is working for the interest of his country."

At the end of the conference Ahmadinejad surprised Sleiman with an Iranian-made gift that only six states own it, Lebanon is the seventh. This device would help Lebanon with its scientific research efforts.