'Iran can play a decisive role'

IRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday left Tehran to attend a UN food summit in Rome, where his presence has already aroused controversy amongst Italian demonstrators.

"Iran, as an influential nation in the economy and agriculture, has clear solutions, programmes and suggestions for the fair production and distribution of food supply in the world," he said before leaving, according to the official IRNA news agency.

"Iran can play a decisive role in today's world management," he added. Ahmadinejad has three times visited UN headquarters in New York for the UN General Assembly but visits by him to any Western country are extremely rare.

Ahmadinejad said that on the sidelines of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) summit he would be holding talks with "world leaders" but did not specify which ones.

Italian activists, leftist politicians and Jewish groups have protested against Ahmadinejad's presence at the summit, saying it was a disgrace that someone who has repeatedly predicted Israel will disappear was invited.

There has been speculation Ahmadinejad wanted meetings with Pope Benedict XVI and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi but these plans now appear to have been shelved amid the controversy.

Tehran, Tuesday, AFP