President Zardari to attend NAM Summit in Tehran

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari will lead the Pakistani delegation to the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran.

President Zardari during his visit is also expected to hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, from August 29-31, being attended by 120 delegates from the developing countries.

He is also expected to meet Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, whom he last met in April, during his day-long private visit to India.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to hold meetings with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the leaders of Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, Indian media quoted Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai.

President Zardari will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who will use the multinational forum to project Pakistan's position on various international and regional issues.

During the two-day deliberations, world leaders and delegates from other countries will exchange views on the latest developments in the world and issues related to the NAM.

Along with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, two kings, 27 presidents, eight prime ministers, nine vice-presidents, six special envoys, around 25 foreign ministers will attend the summit.

A spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Minister told reporters in Tehran that all neighbouring countries of Iran were participating in the meeting. King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia has sent his special envoy, while Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa will also participate in the summit.

It will be the first visit by a Bahraini official to Iran since tensions between the two countries began last year. Egypt, which hosted the 15th Summit, will hand over rotating chairmanship to Iran.