Kenya Reiterates Expansion of Cooperation with Iran.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju underlined his country's resolve to bolster all-out cooperation with Tehran, saying that activity of Iranian companies in Kenya would consolidate the two states' mutual ties.

According to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry's Information and Press Bureau, Tuju made the remarks in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki, where the two sides explored avenues for developing bilateral relations.

During the meeting, the Iranian foreign minister pointed to the recent visits paid by his Kenyan counterpart to Tehran to attend different events - including the ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Indian Ocean littoral states and the meeting of Iran-Kenya joint economic cooperation commission - and described Tuju's trips to Tehran as an indication of Kenya's willingness to further expand ties with the Islamic Republic.

Mottaki also briefed his Kenyan counterpart about the Iranian government's policy on Africa, and stressed that Ahmadinejad's administration seeks to develop relations with the African continent, adding that Iran and Kenya enjoy high potentials and capabilities for developing mutual relations.

He also pointed to the activity of Iranian companies in Kenya's energy and road construction sectors, and said that Iranian companies have the potentials to compete with their western rivals in the technical and engineering grounds.

For his part, the Kenyan foreign minister voiced pleasure in his meeting with Mottaki, and voiced his country's strong opposition to the ideology and strategy adopted by the western states for continuing relations with the African countries in a colonial form.

He further noted Iran's peaceful nuclear programs, and stated Kenya's support for the right of all independent states to use nuclear technology.

Raphael Tuju also stressed the need for the two countries' cooperation in all the different areas, and said that presence and activity of Iranian companies in Kenya consolidated the two countries' relations.

"Iran's technological capabilities have provided a very good opportunity for the presence of Iranian companies in Kenya and the Kenyan government strongly supports activity of Iranian companies in our country," he reiterated.