TEHRAN- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is planning a three-leg trip to Africa as part of the country’s aim to expand relations with friendly countries.

Raisi will lead a delegation from Tehran to Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe on Tuesday at the invitation of his counterparts in the host countries to examine potential possibilities for improving commercial and political ties.

During his three-day visit, the Iranian president will meet with his counterparts, attend meetings of joint high-level delegations, participate in news conferences, and sign cooperation documents.

To benefit from shared economic and trade capabilities, he will also meet with entrepreneurs, economic actors, and authorities from the three nations.

According to IRNA, this will be the first visit to Africa by an Iranian president in 11 years, and it is part of the government's inclusive foreign policy.

Raisi’s tour is intended to strengthen Iran’s position in the $600-billion African economy in line with the administration’s stance on economic multilateralism.

In remarks in January 2022, Raisi criticized the goals and interests that the West pursues in Africa and expressed Iran’s support for the independence, advancement, and welfare of African countries.

Back in June, Raisi also made a tour of three Latin American nations of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.

Raisi has also been invited to attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, which will be held on August 22-24.

BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The heads of all African countries have been invited to the summit.

"President Ramaphosa has decided to invite all African leaders as part of the BRICS outreach so we have extended an invitation to all African leaders to come and have dialogue with BRICS leaders," South Africa’s lead organizer of the BRICS summit Professor Anil Sooklal has said, TASS reported on July 7.

Iran is among the countries which aspires to join the economic bloc. 

BRICS countries have a combined population of more than 3.2 billion people, making up about 40% of the world's roughly 8 billion people.

BRICS foreign ministers, who met in Cape Town in early June, called for a rebalancing of the global order away from Western nations.

South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said the group's vision was to provide global leadership in a world fractured by geopolitical tension, inequality and global insecurity.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian also visited the meeting as an observer.