President: Iran Attaches Importance to Ties with African States

"Tehran attaches great significance to its ties with African countries," President Rouhani said at a meeting with Benin’s first residing Ambassador to Iran Aziz Chabi Imorou in Tehran, praising age-old "good" ties between Iran and western African country of Benin.

He added that Tehran and Porto Novo have great potential in different fields and can develop them in line with efforts to promote bilateral ties.

Rouhani further expressed the hope that a final nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers and the removal of sanctions could help expedite mutual cooperation between the Islamic Republic and its neighboring countries.

The Beninese ambassador, who submitted his credentials to President Rouhani, hailed the opening of his country’s embassy in Tehran as a major step in deepening of relations between the two nations.

He further said that the inauguration of the first African Republican embassy in the Islamic Republic heralds a new chapter of relations between Tehran and Porto Novo.