Rawlings Appeals for Iran-Iraq Reconciliation

Accra, Ghana -President Jerry Rawlings has appealed to Iran and Iraq to respond to changing developments in the world, forget about the past and re-establish links.

He said countries that tore each other apart during World War II were now the best of friends and are dictating the pace of world economic development. Therefore, Iran and Iraq should patch up and resume relations.

"Atomic bombs were dropped on Japan and Germany was virtually bombed to rubble, but these countries are now solid friends," he told Iran's outgoing ambassador, Kiomars Fotouhi Ghiam.

Rawlings said Japan and the US have left behind their World War II bitterness and asked: "why can't we also learn from the past and bury some of our differences? We should not allow our weaknesses to draw us back."

Iran and Iraq fought a bitter eight-year war in the 1980s during which thousands of lives were lost and many cities in both countries were bombed.

The two states are still exchanging prisoners of war but do not have diplomatic relations.

Rawlings thanked Iran for its assistance to Ghana in areas such as agriculture, health, and education. "This is what I always expect from our friends," he said.

Ghiam said he believed Iran and Ghana could explore many more areas for co-operation.

"There is room for improvement in our relations," he added, suggesting the reactivation of the two countries' permanent joint commission for co-operation to speed up collaboration between them.

He said Iran would soon establish an Islamic university in Ghana.