Next Iran administration to review ties with other countries: Salehi

Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says the administration of Iranian President-elect Hassan Rohani will review the country’s diplomatic relations within the broader framework of Tehran’s policies, which will remain unchanged.

“The principles and framework of policies will be maintained but the approaches may change just as the [Iranian] president-elect (Hassan Rohani) had stated, during the election campaign, that he will reconsider Iran’s diplomatic relations with other countries; and that he will do,” Salehi told reporters in Namibia on Monday.

The Iranian foreign minister arrived in Namibia on Monday on the last leg of his tour of African nations. He previously visited Zimbabwe and Comoros.

Evaluating the political relations between Iran and Namibia as positive, Salehi added, however, that unfortunately the economic and trade ties between the two countries were not satisfactory.

Salehi expressed hope that private Iranian companies use the vast economic opportunities in Africa.

The Islamic Republic of Iran reopened its embassy in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, after 16 years in a special ceremony on Monday with Salehi’s presence.

Salehi’s Africa tour is in line with a central plank of Iran’s policy, which is to enhance relations with African nations on all political, economic and cultural fronts.