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News ID: 29150
Publish Date : 23 July 2016 - 22:20

FM Zarif on Four-Nation Africa Tour

TEHRAN (Press TV) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif will set off for West Africa on a four-nation tour to discuss possible ways of improving relations.
Zarif will leave Tehran on Sunday at the head of a politico-economic delegation for a six-day visit.
He plans to hold talks with senior officials, including presidents, parliament speakers and foreign ministers, of Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea-Conakry and Mali.
The Iranian minister will wrap up his visit to West Africa on Friday. Zarif has already paid two official visits to Africa.
He visited four East African countries - Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania – in February 2015, marking the beginning of a new chapter in Tehran’s ties with Africa.
The Iranian foreign minister also made a visit to North African countries of Tunisia and Algeria in August 2015.
Iran already has a significant presence in agricultural and economic projects in some African countries and has been a major contributor to humanitarian missions in the continent over the past years.
The intensified diplomacy on Africa is a sign of Iran’s willingness to engage deeper in African political and economic equations, a move that can further bolster the country’s foothold in the region following the removal of sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program.
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia – plus Germany started implementing a nuclear agreement that they reached on July 14, 2015.
Under the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union, the Security Council and the U.S. would be lifted. Iran has, in return, put some limitations on its nuclear activities.