Iran takes a decade-long first move toward Africa

Tehran is reportedly looking to expand its commercial connections with countries on the continent, according to the nation’s foreign ministry.

President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi began a three-nation visit of East Africa on Wednesday in Nairobi, where he was greeted with a red carpet welcome by his Kenyan colleague William Ruto.

The Iranian foreign ministry states that the purpose of the trip is to promote “closer interaction with African nations,” “diversify Iran’s export destinations,” and “create more grounds for political and commercial cooperation.”

In 2013, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad traveled to Benin, Niger, and Ghana. Raisi’s trip to Africa came more than ten years later.

On a trip Tehran has referred to as a “new beginning” in relations with the continent, which it characterized to as a “land of opportunities” and “fortune,” the president will also travel to Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, claimed that the continent’s mineral resources and economic prospects in a variety of industries, along with those of the Islamic Republic, offer “important ground for both sides to develop interests and profit from the existing capacities.”

The president of Kenya, William Ruto, declared that Tehran has agreed to increase Kenya’s research and technological initiatives in the fields of manufacturing, healthcare, and the blue economy.

Additionally, the two nations completed significant Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in the fields of urban development, fisheries, housing, culture and heritage, information, information and communications, and agriculture, livestock, and culture.

Nairobi will sell agricultural goods and its tea to Tehran, which will also serve as a major entrance point into Central Asian nations, said Ruto, adding that Kenya is eager to increase its trade volumes with Iran.

The president of the Islamic Republic is anticipated in South Africa in the “near future,” according to the nation’s foreign ministry.

In an effort to increase its diplomatic outreach to underdeveloped nations, Raisi visited Latin America last month after visiting Indonesia the month before. During his stays, hundreds of agreements were struck. The Shah blasted Washington’s policies, particularly the economic restrictions placed on Iran and its allies in Latin America.

Since the cancellation of the multilateral nuclear agreement and the reimposition of economic sanctions on Tehran in 2018, when then-President Donald Trump was in office, Iran has been subject to US sanctions.

Iran became the ninth member of the 2001-founded security alliance when it was granted full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization earlier this month. The intergovernmental organization, which consists of China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, places a high priority on cooperation in the areas of politics, security, trade, economy, finance, and investment, as well as in relations between cultures and humanitarian causes.