Ahmadinejad awarded Benin's highest national medal

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was awarded the highest national medal of the African state of Benin by his Beninese counterpart Thomas Yayi Boni in a ceremony in the capital city of Porto-Novo.The Beninese president said the medal was awarded to President Ahmadinejad as a sign of appreciation for his sincere efforts to establish peace and tranquility in the African continent and also for his mutual cooperation with the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) member-states.President Ahmadinejad, heading a high-ranking delegation, arrived in Benin Sunday on the first leg of his three-nation African tour which will later take him to Niger and Ghana.During a meeting yesterday, the Iranian and Beninese presidents underscored the necessity for joint and global efforts to reform the dominant structures of the world to establish peace, security and justice."The NAM members should enhance the Movement's role in international relations through their close and extensive cooperation, and move to correct world relations (to push the world) towards progress, justice and brotherhood," Ahmadinejad said during the meeting with President Yayi Boni in Benin on Sunday night.Ahmadinejad, who is the rotating chairman of the NAM, also said that the world needs a fair order based on nations' joint principles and causes, adding that nations can materialize these causes through cooperation.Yayi Boni, for his part, described Iran as a big and influential power, and said, "Iran can leave an important effect on reforming one-sided structures and establishing peace and stability."President Ahmadinejad has on many occasions underlined the necessity for the establishment of a new world order, saying that the current unjust order has failed to resolve global problems and, thus, reached its end.He added that corrupt rulers are trying to maintain their power through intimidation, pressure, misinformation and propaganda campaign.