IRNA � Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif on Wednesday urged unity among Muslim countries to counter common threats.

Speaking in a meeting in Tehran with Malian Parliament Speaker Issaka Sidib�, the foreign minister expressed the hope that the upcoming Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union (IIPU) conference will help boost unity among Islamic nations.

The two sides, discussed issues of mutual interest, the upcoming IIPU conference due to be held in Mali and the significance of Iran's presence in the event as the founder of the organization, the necessity to fight the root causes of terrorism and extremism and setting up an Iran-Mali joint economic commission.

The Malian parliament speaker, for his part, condoled with Zarif on the demise of former Iranian president Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Sidib� noted that he regards the Iranian people as a resisting nation that will achieve whatever they wish with their firm determination.