South African FM to attend Rohani swearing-in ceremony

South Africa says the country’s foreign minister will take part in the upcoming inauguration ceremony of Iranian president-elect, Hassan Rohani.

Speaking at a press conference in the administrative capital of Pretoria on Thursday, South African Deputy Foreign Minister Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim stated that Maite Nkoana-Mashabane is set to travel to Iran to participate in the ceremony scheduled for August 4, one day after Rohani’s endorsement by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

He added that South African President Jacob Zuma has also expressed hope that relations between Pretoria and Tehran would further develop and consolidate under the next Iranian administration.

Ebrahim stated that Nkoana-Mashabane will hold meetings with senior Iranian officials during her visit to Tehran, and will voice her nation’s strong interest to boost ties with Iran.

Since his election, Rohani has been busy returning congratulatory messages from countries across the world. On Wednesday and in response to a message from Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Rohani expressed hope that Tehran-Kiev relations would increase during his term in office.

“While welcoming the expansion of relations between Iran and Ukraine, I am completely confident that all-out bilateral ties will be further consolidated in the coming years based on mutual respect and interests,” Rohani wrote in the message.

Rohani garnered 50.7 percent of the vote to secure an outright victory in Iran’s 11th presidential election on June 14, 2013. The Interior Ministry put the voter turnout at 72.7 percent.