By empty (4/23/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)

President Mohammad Khatami, currently attending a summit of Caspian Sea littoral states to discuss the issue of how its rich resources are to be shared, Monday night [22 April] called on the states to "coexist" and "cooperate". "Tehran does not look with favour on the pursuit of national interests at the expense of the national interests of other countries," Khatami stressed at a dinner banquet tendered by his Turkmen counterpart Saparmyrat Nyyazow. "The foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is anchored on ideals, mutual respect, detente, dialogue and cooperation among states in the interest of peace," he said.

By empty (4/23/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Leaders of all five states bordering the Caspian Sea are meeting on Tuesday in Turkmenistan to address the decade-long dispute over borders and access to the oil-rich sea. The two-day summit in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat will join the hosts with the leaders of Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. The Caspian is believed to hold the world's third largest oil reserves after the Persian Gulf and Siberia and the dispute has delayed full exploration of the sea's resources.

By empty (4/22/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The central bank in Afghanistan has intervened to support the national currency, buying $500,000 worth of afghanis from the Kabul money market. Large amounts of afghanis were sold at the end of last week as people speculated that the currency would strengthen. The speculation actually caused the afghani to devalue.