MP: Iran has boosted ties with Africa
The administration of Iran's President Ebrahim Raeisi has adopted an active and balanced foreign policy, which boosted the expansion of ties with African and East Asian states, an Iranian legislator said.
Senior Iranian lawmaker Abbas Golrou told IRNA on Saturday that the Raeisi administration has had a balanced and active foreign policy in the first year of his tenure, which led to the development of interactions with neighboring states as well as improvement of economic condition of the Islamic Republic.
The existing evaluations of the administration and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicate that they have been successful in pursuing active and balanced diplomacy with other nations, the Iranian MP noted.
The expansion of political relations, the increase of interactions in reciprocal trips at high-ranking levels, as well as the normalization of ties with certain neighboring states in the north and south, and the promotion of de-escalation in the region are among the Islamic Republic’s achievements in the last year, he argued.
The lawmaker, who is representing Semnan in parliament, said that the 13th administration has put on the agenda the improvement of ties with countries in East Asia, Africa, Latin America, and certain European states.The upcoming trip by the president of Iran to South Africa shows the seriousness of the Iranian administration to enhance relationships with African nations, Golrou added.
South Africa's ambassador to Tehran announced recently that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian would pay an official visit to South Africa in near future.
Vika Mazwi Khumalo in an interview with ISNA declared, “Economic Joint Committee of Iran-South Africa is the oldest joint commission of South Africa with a country in the west of Asia. The Foreign Ministers of both countries preside this joint commission every year; however, it has postponed in recent years due to COVID-19”. The 15th Economic Joint Committee of Iran-South Africa will be held in October 2022.
The senior African diplomat added, “The Iranian President will travel to South Africa in November. This trip will be paid after holding the summit of the joint commission during which certain new agreements will be signed to expand the bilateral ties in different areas”.
