Minister: Iran ready for all-out ties with Africa

Tehran, Sept 15, IRNA – Minister of Industries and Mines Ali-Akbar Mehrabian here on Wednesday expressed Iran’s readiness to cooperate with the African states in all-out fields, the industrial relations in particular.

Addressing the first Iran-Africa Forum in Tehran, Mehrabian referred to the Islamic Republic of Iran as one of the pioneers in the world of industry and said the country attaches importance to expansion of industrial cooperation with the African states.

“Africa is the land of opportunities,” said the Iranian minister, adding that the country welcomes further promotion of ties with Africa.

The Islamic Republic of Iran and Africa have common attitudes towards the global issues, Mehrabian said, opining that there are good grounds for bilateral cooperation in the agricultural and industrial arenas.

Iran’s industries minister further informed the participants of holding an industrial ministerial meeting in the near future with the participation of Iranian and African ministers. The ministerial meeting is due to focus on ways to foster Iran-Africa ties.

Tehran held the first Iran-Africa panel discussion on September 14 for two days, in which a number of top Iranian officials and the heads of states of 40 African countries took part./end