TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani thanked Khartoum for its unsparing aid and assistance to the oppressed people of Palestine.

Larijani made the remarks while addressing a gathering of Iranian nationals residing in Sudan on Monday. 

Praising the powerful and active economy of Sudan, he said the country has played a positive and constructive role in the Palestinian issue. 

 

On Sunday, Larijani said that the Palestinian issue will stand top on the agenda of the 8th General Assembly Meeting of Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union (IIPU) meeting in the Sudanese capital. 

"Palestine will be a serious issue at the 8th meeting of the IIPU," Larijani said before leaving Tehran for Khartoum on Sunday. 

Speaking to reporters upon arrival at the Sudanese airport on Sunday, Larijani said that he hopes the General Assembly Meeting of the IIPU be beneficial for all the member states. 

Larijani, who is scheduled to attend the 8th IIPU meeting, was welcomed by Sudanese Interim National Assembly Speaker, Ahmed Ibrahim al-Tahir, at the airport. 

The 8th General Assembly Meeting of the IIPU will be held in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on January 21-22. 

Parliament speakers and members from across the Muslim world are due to attend the meeting. 

Late in January 2012, Larijani, who was in Indonesia for the 7th General Assembly of the Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union (IIPU), held separate meetings with participating delegations and exchanged views on the latest developments in the Muslim states. 

At a meeting with a Lebanese parliamentary delegation, Larijani stated the West seeks to hinder the growth of democratic movements in the Middle-East and North Africa over its discontent with the wave of the Islamic Awakening. 

"The West does not consider the regional developments, particularly in Egypt and Tunisia, as being in its own interest; therefore, it is causing troubles for these countries," the Iranian parliament speaker noted. 

Larijani also met with his Turkish counterpart Cemil Cicek and the two sides discussed regional developments as well as the Tehran-Ankara ties. 

Larijani hailed the Islamic Awakening movement as a prelude to further progress of the Muslim world, and noted that Iran and Turkey's close views on the Arab world developments are to the benefit of regional nations. 

In another meeting with Qatar's parliament speaker Muhammad bin Mubarak al-Khalifi, Larijani pointed to the vast potentials for further enhancement of the Tehran-Doha relations and called for growing cooperation between the two neighboring countries. 

Parliament speakers from Malaysia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Sudan, Qatar and Cameroon were among the participants in the event.