July 12 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, arrived this Wednesday in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, thus kicking off an official tour of Africa that will also take him to Uganda and Zimbabwe, amid Tehran’s attempts to reinforce their diplomatic relations and reach new economic agreements under the pressure of the sanctions imposed by the United States.
Raisi has been received in Nairobi by the Kenyan President, William Ruto, together with whom he has signed a total of five cooperation agreements, as confirmed by the Iranian Presidency through a statement, in which he has specified that they focus on matters of veterinary medicine, communication, culture, fishing and technology.
The Iranian president stressed that “Iran’s perspective on cooperation with Africa is based on synergies and is based on the human dignity of the people of the continent”, before criticizing that some countries maintain an “exploitative and colonialist” attitude in its relations with African countries.
In this line, he has emphasized that Tehran has maintained “very favorable” relations with African countries since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and has argued that the level of trade relations can increase “based on mutual capacities”, according to picked up by the Iranian news agency Mehr.
As part of his tour, Raisi hopes to expand economic cooperation with Uganda and Zimbabwe, a country in which Tehran is involved in agriculture, mining and electricity projects.
Iran is trying to overcome economic difficulties stemming from US sanctions imposed over its nuclear program after Washington unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from the 2015 accord, with no efforts to revive the pact so far bearing fruit.
