Zarif Calls for Closer Tehran-Dakar Ties
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif voiced Tehran’s readiness to boost its bilateral ties with Dakar in all areas.
In a meeting with Speaker of the Senegalese Parliament Moustapha Niasse in Tehran on Monday, Zarif referred to Senegal’s key role in West Africa and expressed Iran’s readiness to expand its ties with the African country in various areas, particularly car industry.
The Iranian top diplomat further expressed his willingness to travel to Senegal in the near future and prepare the ground for enhanced relations between the two nations.
Niasse, for his part, described his trip to Iran as a good opportunity to increase Tehran-Dakar cooperation in different fields, economy in particular.
He further noted that his country wants to use Iran’s experience in the agricultural sector, including the export of tractors and harvesting machines to Senegal.
Iran and Senegal in 2013 resumed diplomatic relations and reopened embassies in one another’s capitals, two years after the ties were severed.
Dakar had broken off relations with Iran in February 2011, over accusations that Tehran supported separatist rebels in its southern Casamance region, a charge Tehran strongly denied.
The two countries resumed their diplomatic relations following a decision by former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall on the sidelines of the 12th Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Cairo in February 2013.
Expansion of relations with African countries in all political, economic and cultural fields is top on the agenda of the Iranian foreign policy.
Iran’s President Rouhani has repeatedly said that his government welcomes boosting relations with African nations.
