The President went on to state that the first goal of this visit was to strengthen the strategic depth of the Islamic Republic of Iran and stated, "One of the goals of this trip was to develop relations with the countries of the African continent, because Africa is a continent of valuable opportunities, abundant natural resources, mines and fields, and many talents".
After an intensive and productive trip to three African countries of Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe, Dr Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi returned to Iran and after arriving in the country, he explained the results and achievements of this trip, and said, "Our relationship with the African continent is important like the relationship with the countries of the Asian continent and other parts of the world, and the connection with this continent, which is the land of opportunities, should not be neglected".
Pointing out that since the beginning of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, thanks to the ideals of the revolution, the guidance of Imam Khomeini and the holy blood of the martyrs, a good relationship was established between the Islamic Republic of Iran and many countries of the world, especially in Africa, and added, "When African nations saw indicators such as the God-centeredness, anti-colonialism, and right-seeking of the Islamic Revolution, they became interested in this revolution".
Stating that naturally this relationship should have been strengthened, Dr Raisi said, "Unfortunately, this relationship was neglected in the past years".
The President went on to state that the first goal of this visit was to strengthen the strategic depth of the Islamic Republic of Iran and stated, "One of the goals of this trip was to develop relations with the countries of the African continent, because Africa is a continent of valuable opportunities, abundant natural resources, mines and fields, and many talents".
Dr Raisi listed the strengthening of economic and commercial relations with the countries of the African continent as one of the goals of this trip and noted, "In this trip, we pursued the improvement of the country's food security by facilitating access to basic goods produced in African countries, as well as creating new export markets for Iranian products, especially knowledge-based products".
Referring to the interest of these countries in buying Iranian knowledge-based products, the President said, "Facilitating the supply of raw materials and essential goods at a reasonable price and the possibility of implementing extraterritorial cultivation plans in these countries were among the other goals of this trip, which were successfully pursued and agreed that essential goods needed by Iran be imported from these countries in the form of bartering and in exchange for the sale of petrochemical products and materials".
Dr Raisi added, "Also, in line with the expansion of scientific and technological cooperation, Iran's scientific and technological offices were activated in all three countries of Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe in order to take an effective step in facilitating and strengthening our communication and cooperation in this field".
The President further pointed out that the next part of the goals of this trip was to establish public relations in these countries, which we had good public and elite relations during the trip, and stated, "In all three countries, there were good meetings with the economic community and those who wanted to strengthen economic relations between Iran and African countries, and it was decided to solve the problems facing their activities".
Dr Raisi stated that the improvement of Iran's bilateral relations with these countries will definitely lead to the strengthening of our regional and international cooperation, adding, "Iran has common positions with these countries in the field of opposing and fighting unilateralism, defending real human rights, preserving the unity of the family and fighting against moral anomalies, which are encouraged by Western countries today".
The President pointed out , "The current economic and commercial relations of the Islamic Republic of Iran with these three countries and other African countries are not acceptable. Each of these three countries has an important place in Africa, including Kenya, which is a kind of gateway to East Africa, and this was our first trip to that country. Strengthening relations with these countries can lead to strengthening relations with other African countries".
In the end, Dr Raisi emphasised that the Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the world is not limited to just a few western countries and that we intend to have relations with all the countries of the world. As much as we care about America or Asia, we also care about Africa and we believe that we should pay attention to the whole world".