Algeria renews support for Iranian nation, gov't

Algerian Parliament Speaker Abdelaziz Ziari, in a meeting with an Iranian parliamentary delegation, underlined his country's support for Iran, and voiced Algiers' willingness to boost bilateral ties with Tehran. During the meeting held in the Algerian capital on Friday, Ziari stated that the nation and government of Algeria will always stay beside the Iranian nation and government during hard times. "Algerian government has always worked for consolidation of ties between Iran and Algeria and its grabs every opportunity for meeting the Iranian officials," the Algerian speaker added. The head of Iran-Algeria Parliamentary Friendship Group, Mousa Qorbani, for his part, said that Iran and Algeria have many cultural and intellectual commonalities that can help them strengthen their bilateral ties. In recent years, Iran has sought hard to boost ties and cooperation with Africa. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly underlined his administration's resolve to continue support for stronger ties between Tehran and African nations. Iran is an observing member of the African Union and has shown an active presence in previous AU summit meetings.