Vice President Mohammad Reza Aleph urged African countries to strengthen bilateral ties with the Islamic Republic by ignoring Western conspiracy aimed at inciting anti-Iran and anti-African sentiment.
“Iranphobia and afroceptism supported by Western countries are two important challenges for the development of Iran-African relations,” AREF said in a meeting with representatives who participated in the third Iran-African Economic Cooperation Council held in Tehran on Monday.
He said that Iranphobia is being promoted with the specific goal of “depicting an unrealistic image of Iran.” He emphasized that this could be countered through interaction and exchange with civilized nations, particularly Africa, where it has thousands of years of civilization.
The Vice President called for the identification of Iran and the African continent’s capabilities to promote mutual cooperation, saying, “The development of relations with African countries in all areas lies in the diplomatic agenda of the Islamic Republic.”
Referring to the previous Iran-Africa cooperation summit, he highlighted the interaction between signatories and the need to implement the remaining contracts.
AREF said it could be fruitful in the development of relationships given the performance of various sectors. “Today, relying on domestic resources, we are independent in agriculture, industrial, scientific and technological products, especially in the context of cruel and illegal sanctions,” he said.
Emphasizing the importance of balanced foreign policy interactions, he called for prioritization of export import development by identifying the possibilities and capabilities of both parties.
He further emphasized the need to identify and eliminate obstacles to cooperation, including legal obstacles. He pointed to the mechanism of the Joint Committee as a potential solution in this regard.
High officials, ministers, delegations heads, chambers of commerce and representatives from the private sector of African countries attended a meeting with AREF on Monday.
MNA/