TEHRAN – The Iranian Agricultural Ministry has set Africa as the first option for extraterritorial cultivation in its ongoing programs, IRNA reported.

As one of the major policies of the current government administration, the Islamic Republic has been following new strategies to expand cooperation with Africa, and agriculture has been the main focus of such cooperation.

In line with the mentioned strategies, the first meeting of the Iran-Tanzania Joint Economic Committee is going to be held shortly and to prepare for the mentioned meeting, the Iranian Agriculture Ministry hosted a gathering to discuss possible agreements and memorandums that could be reached between the two sides in the upcoming committee meeting.

Tanzania is considered one of the most important countries in East Africa and Iran is taking new measures to expand economic ties with this country.

In late November 2022, Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) held the first exclusive exhibition of Iranian products and services in Tanzania in collaboration with the Iranian Trade Center in the African country to showcase the Islamic Republic’s trade and export capacities.

According to Ra’ed Mousavi, the head of the Iranian Trade Center in Tanzania, this exhibition was the most appropriate platform to increase the knowledge of East African countries, especially Tanzania, about the products, services, and technological advancements of Iranian companies.

According to Mousavi, companies active in various fields including the agricultural sector, mines and industrial machinery, construction, as well as medicine and medical equipment participate in the first exclusive exhibition of the export capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Tanzania.

In mid-July 2023, President Ebrahim Raisi also took a visit to three African countries of Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Economic experts believe that the president's visit to Africa provided the basis for increasing Iran's presence in the 60-billion-dollar economy of the African continent and will increase the level of activity of Iranian traders and businessmen in this continent.

Over the past 40 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has never given up on its principled policy towards Africa due to political and cultural commonalities, despite the sanctions, pressure and disruptions of the West, and has always maintained itself alongside the people and countries of Africa.

As reported, during the Iranian calendar years 1384 and 1385 (March 2005-March 2007), the relations between Iran and the African continent increased in terms of trade, but since 1386, the economic relations between Iran and Africa have decreased due to the economic crisis and cruel sanctions against Iran.

Surveys show that in the past years, due to the lack of restoration of economic relations with Africa, the amount of trade with the countries of this continent has remained at the level of $1.2 billion, but according to Mohammed-Sadeq Qanadzadeh, the director general of the Africa Department of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), facilitating the trade route with Africa is happening now and it is expected that the trade figure with this continent will reach $10 billion in the next three years.

In fact, good steps have been taken to use Africa's capacity, and Africa can be a suitable market for Iranian goods, Qanadzadeh stated.

EF/MA