TEHRAN –Central Africa has expressed interest in benefiting from Iran’s knowledge and experience in technology and training efficient human resources to address environmental issues.

Hyppolite Jean-Paul Ngate Robard, Central African Minister for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, held a meeting with Ali Salajeqeh, the head of the Department of Environment (DOE) in Tehran on Tuesday.

The African official commended Iran’s capabilities and remarkable growth in various sectors and went on to highlight some of the environmental challenges that Central Africa is currently facing.

“The economic problems have led people and local communities to exploit the forests of Central Africa.

Moreover, climate change has altered the seasonal rainfall patterns. There used to be two six-months of wet and dry seasons. Now, there are sometimes four months of rain or four months of drought in a year.

The shift in precipitation pattern has badly affected agriculture.”

He also stressed that inappropriate waste management has posed serious problems and challenges to cities and villages of the country. 

Salajeqeh, for his part, announced Iran’s readiness to expand environmental ties with Central Africa.

“Iran is ready to offer scholarships to Central African students in various technical engineering, medical, and particularly environmental fields,” the official said.

He went on to stress Iran’s ability to meet the needs of Central Africa in science and technology, particularly in new energies, water, sewage, and waste management, environmental protection, and academic fields.

Iran to transfer technology to Africa

In the 2nd Iran & Africa International Economic Conference, convened at Tehran's International Conference Center on April 26, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi underlined Iran's intention to engage with Africa on the basis of mutual interest, contrasting it with the exploitative approach of many Western countries. 

He highlighted Africa's potential in various fields, including emerging technologies, and called for the development of cooperation roadmaps with defined timelines. 

In July 2023,  Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who accompanied President Ebrahim Raisi on his trip to Africa, spoke about Iran’s perspective on the continent and the potential for collaboration with African nations.

“Iran’s view on Africa is quite different from that of neo-colonialism or its older version,” Amir-Abdollahian told Press TV in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.

“We aim to empower Africa through technology transfer,” he said.

The foreign minister continued his remarks by elaborating on two key points of convergence between Iran and African countries. 

African people and their leaders are now quite sensitive to protecting their independence and this is among the commonalities between Iran and African nations, Amir-Abdollahian underlined. 

“Another issue of equal importance for Iran and Africa is the U.S. sanctions regime. With Africa’s assistance, we should prevent the U.S. and certain states that still have a colonial mindset from utilizing the deadly tool of sanctions against nations,” Iran’s top diplomat pointed out.

MT/MG