Iranian nuclear ambitions overshadow D-8 summit

Indonesian navy commandos guard the Nusa Dua beach, as a tourist enjoys a massage, on Friday ahead of the Fifth Summit of the Developing Eight which opened yesterday. The summit focused on commercial and economic cooperation among member states, including in the areas of science, industry and investment. PHOTO: AFP

The standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions overshadowed trade talks opening on Bali yesterday between leaders of Muslim-majority countries, with snipers on rooftops, anti-terror squads patrolling the resort and security posts on the beach.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to discuss ways to boost economic and political cooperation, alleviate poverty, restructure debt and develop alternative energy sources.

Heads of state from Nigeria, Turkey and Malaysia and government ministers from Egypt and Bangladesh also took part in the daylong Developing Eight (D-8) summit on Indonesia's tropical Bali island, which has in recent years been hit by a series of al-Qaeda-linked terrorist attacks.

Though the crisis over Iran's nuclear ambitions was not officially on the agenda, Ahmadinejad sought support from his Islamic brothers on the sidelines.

He says his country's nuclear program was only aimed at generating energy, but Washington believes the real purpose is to build weapons.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said after holding a hastily arranged meeting with the Iranian leader that he supported a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

"Dialogue is the best way," he told reporters before slipping back into the main conference room. "We should not create another crisis."

Fears that Iran was trying to build nuclear warheads were aggravated on Friday, when diplomats said UN inspectors may have found traces of highly enriched weapons-grade uranium on equipment from an Iranian research center linked to the military.

The diplomats, who demanded anonymity in exchange for divulging the confidential information, cautioned that they were still awaiting confirmation from other laboratory tests.

Ahmadinejad vowed to continue to battle against the West for the right to develop new technologies, saying it is every country's right and in the interests of the D-8, which represent 14 percent of the world's population.

The meeting on Bali occurred eight months after suicide bombers walked into three crowded restaurants, killing 20 people.

The deadly strike blamed on the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network, followed twin nightclub bombings in 2002 that killed 202 mostly foreign tourists.

Security was tight, with snipers stationed on rooftops and the top floor of the five-star beach-side hotel that was hosting the meeting

Bags were X-rayed, anti-terror police dressed in black patrolled the grounds, and makeshift military posts were stationed along the beach.