President Ebrahim Raeisi has departed Iran on a three-nation tour of Africa that will take him to Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe at the respective invitation of the African countries' heads of state.
The chief executive set out on the tour on Wednesday as means of trying to enhance the Islamic Republic's relations with the destination countries as friendly nations, and paving the way for further political and commercial cooperation with them.
While at the airport, Raeisi clarified that, unlike some countries that retained an exploitative and colonialistic attitude towards African nations, "Iran's perspective of cooperation with Africa was based on synergy and relied on the human dignity of the people of the continent."
The president hailed that Iran had maintained "very favorable" relations with African nations since the victory of the country's Islamic Revolution in 1979.
African countries, he maintained, were in possession of immense wealth, resources, talents, and capacities that could be exchanged with the great capacities that has been created in Iran on the back of the Revolution and the Iranian nation's contribution.
Iran's current share of the $1,200 billion market offered by Africa is, however, only $1.200 billion that is considered to be "a very low share considering the [available] mutual capacities," Raeisi remarked.
The president referred to the fields of agriculture, science, and technology as some available favorable areas of cooperation with African countries.
He advised inauguration of Iran's science and technology offices in the threesome nations and elsewhere in the African continent as well as "exportation of Iranian technical and engineering services" to African destinations.