First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Aref has urged African countries to strength their bilateral relations with the Islamic Republic by ignoring the Western plot aimed at inciting anti-Iran and anti-Africa sentiments.
“Iranophobia and Afroscepticism, fueled by Western countries, are two important challenges for the development of relations between Iran and Africa,” Aref said in a meeting with representatives participating at the Third Iran-Africa Economic Cooperation Conference in Tehran on Monday.
He noted that Iranophobia is being promoted with a specific goal of “portraying an unrealistic image of Iran,” which, he emphasized, can be countered through interactions and exchanges between civilized countries, especially with Africa that has thousands of years of civilization.
The vice president called for identifying the capacities of Iran and the African continent in order to boost mutual cooperation, saying that “developing relations in all sectors with African countries is on the foreign policy agenda of the Islamic Republic.”
Referring to the previous Iran-Africa cooperation summits, he emphasized the need for implementing the remaining agreements with interactions between the signatories.
Aref stated that Iran, given the achievements in various sectors, could be fruitful in developing relations. “Today, relying on domestic resources, we are in a state of self-reliance in agricultural, industrial, scientific, and technological products, especially advanced technologies despite the cruel and illegal sanctions,” he said.
Emphasizing the importance of balanced foreign policy interactions, he called for prioritizing export-import development by identifying the possibilities and capacities of both sides.
He further underlined the need to identify and eliminate obstacles to cooperation, including legal hindrances. He pointed to the mechanism of a Joint Commission as a potential solution in this regard.
High-ranking officials, ministers, heads of delegations, heads of chambers of commerce, representatives from the private sector of African countries attended the meeting with Aref on Monday.
MNA/
