Speaking to reporters before departing Tehran for the black continent on Tuesday morning, Ali Larijani announced that during the trip he will not only discuss parliamentary ties between Iran and the two African countries of South Africa and Congo, but also will launch talks on the enhancement of economic relations with them.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always paid special attention to the African countries regarding the political and economic relations,” Larijani explained.
Accompanied by four Iranian parliamentarians, the speaker left Tehran for a 4-day visit to Africa, the continent that Iran has long strived to maximize relations with.
Describing South Africa and Congo as two “friends” of Iran, Larijani also hailed the “relatively close parliamentary ties and developmental cooperation” between Tehran and those two African states.
Expansion of relations with African countries in all political, economic and cultural fields is top on the agenda of the Iranian foreign policy.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has repeatedly said that his government welcomes boosting relations with the African nations.
To that end, Tehran has engaged in a flurry of diplomatic exchanges with the African states and clinched several cooperation agreements.
Tehran has put emphasis on promotion of its economic and political ties with the African states and the country is now considered as one of the African Union’s strategic partners.
Tehran’s efforts to boost ties and cooperation with Africa have led to its acceptance as an observer member of the African Union (AU), where it has shown an active presence in the AU summit meetings.