Iran, Ivory Coast keen to deepen bilateral ties

Iran and Ivory Coast’s officials in a meeting in Tehran underlined the need for the further expansion of bilateral ties and mutual cooperation. During the meeting in the Iranian capital, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and Ivory Coast’s Parliament Speaker Guillaume Soro explored avenues for bolstering and reinvigorating mutual cooperation. Amir Abdollahian explained that the Iranian government prioritizes cooperation with African countries, specially with members of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and voiced Iran’s readiness to broaden bilateral relations with the Ivory Coast in all the political, economic and cultural fields. The Ivory Coast’s parliament speaker, for his part, pointed to his country’s needs in the field of oil, industry, agriculture and infrastructures, and called for the transfer of Iran’s experiences for the development and advancement of Ivory Coast. Soro also called for holding joint economic cooperation commission meetings between the two countries, and expressed the hope that Amir Abdollahian’s visit to the Ivory Coast “will have beneficial achievements for both countries". After the victory of Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the Iranian governments have prioritized expansion of ties with African countries. Iran is an observing member of the African Union and has shown an active presence in previous AU summit meetings. The country is considered as one of the AU's strategic partners along with India, Japan, China, several South American states and Turkey, while Tehran is also believed to be prioritizing promotion of its economic and political ties with the African states.