TEHRAN (Iran News) –President Ebrahim Raisi wrapped up his three-nation African tour with a visit to Zimbabwe where the two sides signed 12 memorandums of understanding to strengthen bilateral ties.
Raisi, who visited Kenya and Uganda earlier in the week, met Thursday with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa who urged nations targeted by Western sanctions to band together.
The two presidents signed “a record” 12 agreements on topics ranging from energy to telecommunications, Mnangagwa said. These will help Zimbabwe access innovation and technology from Iran and envisage the creation of a tractor factory to support agricultural mechanization, he added.
The two countries also signed cooperation agreements for energy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications as well as research, science and technology projects.
In a joint press conference with his Zimbabwean counterpart, Raisi said that Tehran is ready to boost cooperation with Harare in all fields including politics and economy.
He hailed efforts by Tehran and Harare to develop their relations, saying that the two nations share commonalities such as fighting colonialism.
The Iranian president said that Iran seeks to have interaction will all countries, not just Western states.
He also criticized certain countries, including the United States, for imposing sanctions on other nations.
Raisi noted that the Islamic Republic is opposed to sanctions and unilateralism, adding that sanctions are like a military tool that causes harm to nations.
He also touched on U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran and Zimbabwe, saying the Islamic Republic would work hard to forge closer economic ties.
“It is critically important that we, the victims of Western sanctions, are talking to each other… that we show them that we’re united,” Mnangagwa told a press briefing after talks with Raisi.
“I am happy you have come to show solidarity,” Mnangagwa told President Raisi on arrival, calling him “my brother”.
Hundreds of people waving Zimbabwean and Iranian flags had gathered at Robert Mugabe International Airport in Harare during the morning to greet President Raisi.
Meanwhile accompanying President Raisi during the chief executive’s tour of Africa, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has described Iran’s attitude towards the continent and the prospect of the Islamic Republic’s cooperation with African states.
“Iran’s view on Africa is quite different from that of neo-colonialism or its older version,” the top Iranian diplomat said in exclusive remarks to Press TV in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare on Thursday.
“We seek to transfer technology to Africa and empower the continent,” Amirabdollahian added.
