Ali Akbar Salehi: Expansion of Ties with Africa “Iran’s Top Priority”

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi underlined that bolstering ties with African countries is a top priority of the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy.

The issue was raised by Salehi in a meeting with outgoing Ambassador of Guinea to Tehran Abdulkarim Jubati on Tuesday.

Salehi noted to the pressures imposed by the West to undermine Iran’s progress, but underlined that the Iranian nation and government will continue their move on the path of progress despite all these pressures.

During the meeting, Jubati referred to Guinea’s resistance against foreign pressures, and called for continued cooperation between Iran and his West African state in expanding their political and economic ties.

Iran has in the past few years shown increasing willingness to expand ties and cooperation with the Africa states and offered to transfer experience and technology to several African countries.

Since taking office in 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has striven hard to maximize Tehran’s relations with the African continent.