TEHRAN – Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Trade (ICCIMA) Gholam-Hossein Shafeie has said the basis is provided for the expansion of economic cooperation between Iran and Tanzania in various fields including agriculture, mining as well as technical and engineering services.

Shafeie made the remarks in a meeting with Director General of Tanzania Trade Development Authority (TanTrade) Latifa M. Khamis in Tehran on Tuesday, the ICCIMA portal reported.

“It is possible for Iranian companies to invest in the fields of technical and engineering services, agricultural machinery, and mining activities in Tanzania,” the official said.

The ICCIMA head considered the development of relations with African countries as a main strategy of the Iranian government and said: “Despite this special view, unfortunately, the level of Iran's relations with this region is unfavorable and should be improved.”

Further in the meeting, Khamis, who visited Iran on top of a trade delegation, stated that the purpose of her trip to Iran was to consult with Iranian officials and to identify areas for economic cooperation and investment between the two countries.

She noted that her accompanying delegation is seeking to sign memorandums and cooperation agreements with their Iranian counterparts.

“Due to the progress that Iran has made in the field of agricultural machinery, we are interested in cooperation in this area. Of course, in the meantime, we will follow up on the development of relations in other areas if possible,” she explained.

As announced by the vice president of Iran and Africa Merchants Club Ruhollah Latifi, the value of trade between Iran and Africa rose two percent in the past Iranian calendar year 1401 (ended on March 20).

He put Iran-Africa annual trade at 2.545 million tons worth $1.278 billion.

Iran exported 2.452 million tons of products valued at $1.183 billion to 49 African countries in the past year, showing one percent fall, and imported 92,898 tons of goods worth $95.316 million from 23 African countries, indicating 59 percent growth, year on year, according to Latifi.

He said that South Africa with the purchase of $305.411 million (20 percent growth), Mozambique with $190.517 million (94 percent growth), Ghana with $165.014 million (53 percent decrease), Sudan with $142.702 million (96 percent growth), Nigeria with $129.332 million (three percent growth), Kenya with $53.203 million (31 percent decrease), and Ivory Coast with $41.605 million (183 percent growth) were the first seven destinations of Iranian goods in the African continent in 1401.

Latifi further announced that Tanzania with sales of $20.899 million (43 percent growth), Kenya with $17.277 million (174 percent growth), South Africa with $16.637 million (158 percent growth), Ghana with $9.136 million (22 percent growth), Seychelles with $7.285 million (82 percent growth), Egypt with $5.727 million (60 percent growth), and Congo with $4.742 million (1,424 percent growth) were the first seven African sources of imports for Iran in the past year.

Latifi, who is the former spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), further announced that Burundi, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone are four export destinations that were not in the list of Iran's export destinations in 1400, to which Iranian goods were exported in 1401.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari has said that the economies of Iran and the African continent are complementary to each other, and due to their abundant capacities, significant achievements can be achieved in this due.

Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization has also said the country is taking the necessary steps to increase annual trade exchanges with African countries to $5 billion by the Iranian calendar year 1404 (begins in March 2025).

EF/MA

Photo: ICCIMA Head Gholam-Hossein Shafeie (R) and Director General of Tanzania Trade Development Authority (TanTrade) Latifa M. Khamis meet in Tehran on Tuesday.