TEHRAN -- President Ebrahim Raisi said here Friday Iran and the African nations are keen to strengthen relations, noting that enhanced ties can form a complementary economy. 
Raisi made the remarks to the opening of the Second Iran and Africa International Economic Conference at Tehran’s International Conference Center. 
“This meeting is a symbol of the will of African nations and Iran to expand economic ties,” he told the gathering that hosted representatives from 30 African countries. 
Raisi hailed the conference as an opportunity for both Iran and the African nations to get familiar with their mutual capacities.
“Despite threats and sanctions, the Islamic Republic of Iran has made good progress. The Islamic Republic can be called an advanced and technological country,” he said, stressing that getting familiar with the achievements of Iran in the field of emerging technologies is of “great importance.”
The president said Iran seeks to maintain ties with Africa based on mutual interest, unlike many Western countries that have “plundered” Africa’s resources. “Westerners want Africa for themselves but we want Africa for Africa.”
Tehran believes Africa has skilled labor forces and can achieve progress in many fields, including emerging technologies, he stressed.
Raisi said the importance of formulating roadmaps for cooperation between Iran and the African continent and for cooperation between Iran and each African nation, with defined timelines.
President Raisi said Iran is ready to share its technological achievements with Africa despite the threats and sanctions by the West, but the existing problems preventing financial and money transfer should be removed to achieve the goals.
If Iran’s and Africa’s capacities are combined, “a complementary economy will be formed,” he said. 
Iran has over 10,000 knowledge-based firms exporting more than two billion dollars worth of goods, Raisi said, adding their products can help 

Africa solve its problems in different spheres.
He named agriculture, industry, medicine, healthcare, and building refineries and power plants as some of the areas that can help Iran forge stronger ties with Africa.
“Overseas cultivation is another important capacity. Raw materials can be supplied for all economic operators and production centers by Africa at a reasonable price,” he said.
Senior officials, including economy ministers, are taking part in this edition of the conference that will wrap up its activities on Monday. 
Later Friday, the president met Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister Joachim Kyelem de Tambela, stressing that Iran has the joint interests of the Islamic Republic and African nations at heart.
De Tambela said that his country is willing to give a boost to relations with the Iranian people who have created such a big civilization.
He touched on the West’s enmity with Iran, saying the Islamic Republic is an independent developing country, nonetheless.
He also stressed his country’s willingness to cooperate with Tehran on infrastructure, information and communication technology, mines, agriculture, animal husbandry, transportation, science, culture, energy and knowledge-based technologies.    
Iran is expanding its footprint in Africa, part of a major strategic shift that has involved high-level Iranian diplomatic and trade delegations. The country hopes to build partnerships that will help it bypass U.S.-led sanctions.
“Iran has been seeking to expand its political and economic reach further beyond its region,” said Lukas Webber, senior consultant for Valens Global and co-founder of Militant Wire. And due to Western sanctions, Webber said, “Iran has extra incentive to pursue new trade opportunities with African countries.”
Iranian officials have lauded the potential to gain access to Africa’s agricultural and mineral wealth while finding new destinations for Iranian exports. Raisi, underscoring the importance of the strategy, made a three-country tour to Africa in July -- the first by an Iranian president to the continent in more than a decade.
This week, Iran is touting the second Iran-Africa trade summit in just over a year, with representatives from more than 30 African countries attending the April 26-29 event in Tehran.
An Iranian official responsible for the promotion of international business said that “the future of world trade will be determined in Africa.” And unlike with other major powers that have sought to tap into Africa’s “unexploited virgin resources,” he said, African countries do not have “political angles” with Iran.
In recent months, Iran has made its presence felt from the Horn of Africa to the Sahel. Tehran has worked to patch things up with Eritrea and Sudan, which fell out with Iran after joining a Saudi-led coalition against Yemen.